Servants  of  the  King 


Robert  E.  Speer 


BV  3700  .S63  1910 

Speer,  Robert  E.  1867-1947. 

Servants  of  the  King 


J 


I*     JAN  27  1911 


^?r?^ 


^f/fii 


Servants  of  the  King 


ROBERT  E.  SPEER 


StViV 


iv! 


NEW  YORK 

YOUNG    PEOPLE'S   MISSIONARY   MOVEMENT 

OF  THE   UNITED   STATES  AND   CANADA 

1910 


Copyright,  1909,  by 

YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface    vii 

I     David  Livingstone 1 

II     Henry  Benjamin  Whipple 19 

III  William  Taylor 35 

IV  Alice  Jackson 55 

V     Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck 7Z 

VI     Eleanor  Chesnut 89 

VII     Matthew  Tyson  Yates 115 

VIII     Isabella  Thoburn 137 

IX     Jarnes  Robertson 153 

X     John  Coleridge  Patteson 1 73 

XI     Ion  Keith-Falconer 189 

Index 205 


lU 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 
David  Livingstone 3 

Inscription    on    the    Tree    in    Ilala,    Africa,    Under 

Which  the  Heart  of  Livingstone  Was  Buried 15 

Henry  Benjamin  Whipple 21 

The  Rev.  J.  J.  Enmegahbowh,  a  Full-blood  Chippewa, 

Ordained  by  Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple 25 

William  Taylor 37 

Missionary  Journeys  of  William  Taylor 50 

Alice  Jackson 57 

Smith  College  Basket-ball  Team 61 

Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck 75 

Decoration  of  the  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun 85 

Eleanor  Chesnut 91 

Ruins  of  the  Lien-chou  Hospital,  China 107 

Matthew  Tyson  Yates 117 

Yates  Memorial  Hall,  Shanghai,  China 133 

Isabella  Thoburn 139 

Isabella  Thoburn  College,  Lucknow,  India 145 

James  Robertson 155 

James  Robertson's  Grave  in  the  Kildonan  Churchyard, 

Manitoba  165 

John  Coleridge  Patteson 175 

Facsimile   of  a   Letter   Written   by   Bishop   Patteson 

from  Melanesia 183 

Ion  Keith-Falconer 191 

Keith-Falconer's  Home  in  Scotland 201 

Ruins  of  His  Home  in  Arabia 201 

V 


PREFACE 

The  Bible  itself  is,  in  the  main,  simply  a  book 
of  biographies.  The  most  wonderful  part  of  it  is 
the  biography  of  Jesus.  The  next  most  wonderful  is 
the  life  and  letters  of  Saint  Paul.  And  almost  all 
of  the  Old  Testament  is  either  the  record  of  men's 
lives  or  God's  revelation  through  men  who,  in  pro- 
claiming the  message  which  had  been  given  to  them 
of  God,  also  unawares  laid  bare  their  own  inmost 
souls.  Through  the  lives  of  men  and  of  his  own 
Son,  God  has  revealed  his  truth,  and  in  the  record 
of  their  lives  reveals  it  still. 

And  we  learn  best  what  this  revelation  of  God 
means  and  can  effect,  by  studying  it,  first  in  itself, 
and  then  in  true  men  who  have  studied  it  and  who 
are  living  by  it.  Of  all  such,  none  have  lived  more 
richly  or  originally  than  the  missionaries  who  have 
gone  out  to  live  now  such  lives  as  Paul  lived,  and 
to  work  such  work  as  Paul  wrought  nearly  nineteen 
centuries  ago. 

The  sketches  in  this  volume  are  studies  of  such 
men  and  women.  Some  worked  at  home,  and  some 
abroad.  Some  are  known  to  all,  and  some  to  smaller 
circles,  but  in  each  one  the  great  principles  of  the 
Savior's  own  life  were  in  a  true  though  lesser  meas- 

vii 


via  Preface 

ure  incarnate,  and  our  purpose  in  studying  them 
should  be  to  find  those  principles  and  open  a  larger 
place  for  them  in  our  own  lives.  As  they  served 
Christ,  so  also  ought  we  to  serve  him.  And  surely 
we  will  serve  him  better  as  we  see  what  a  fine,  great 
thing  their  service  was. 

If  those  who  study  these  sketches  wish  to  consult 
fuller  biographies,  they  may  turn  to  the  following, 
from  which  the  material  for  the  sketches  has  been 
drawn :  Blaikie,  The  Personal  Life  of  David 
Livingstone;  Whipple,  Lights  and  Shadozvs  of  a 
Long  Episcopate;  Taylor,  The  Story  of  My  Life; 
Speer,  A  Memorial  of  Alice  Jackson;  Griffis,  Verheck 
of  Japan;  Taylor,  The  Story  of  Yates,  the  Mission- 
ary; Gordon,  The  Life  of  James  Robertson;  Tho- 
burn.  Life  of  Isabella  Thoburn;  Yonge,  Life  of  John 
Coleridge  Patteson;  Sinker,  Memorials  of  the  Hojp- 
arable  Ion  Keith-Falconer, 

Robert  E.  Speer. 

New  York  City, 

April  15,  1909. 


DAVID    LIVINGSTONE 


I  will  place  no  value  on  anything  I  have  or  may  possess, 
except  in  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

— David  Livingstone 


(^  (>A^^i^  .J^AXyta/y^cj^^ 


I 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE 

IN  Westminster  Abbey  the  visitor,  wandering 
about  studying  the  monuments  and  inscriptions, 
comes  in  the  middle  of  the  nave  upon  a  large  black 
slab  set  in  the  floor  bearing  these  words : 

BROUGHT  BY  FAITHFUL  HANDS 

OVER   LAND  AND   SEA, 

HERE   RESTS 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE, 

MISSIONARY,  TRAVELER,  PHILANTHROPIST, 

Born  March  19,  18 13, 
At  Blantyre,  Lanarkshire. 
Died  May  4,  1873, 
At  Chitambo's  Village,  Ilala. 

On  the  right  border  of  the  stone  is  a  Latin  sen- 
tence, and  along  the  left  border : 

OTHER  SHEEP  I  HAVE  WHICH  ARE  NOT  OF  THIS  FOLD, 
THEM  ALSO  I   MUST  BRING,  AND  THEY  SHALL  HEAR 
MY  VOICE. 

This  is  the  resting-place  of  the  body,  but  not  of 
the  heart,  of  the  Scotch  weaver  lad  who  went  out 

3 


4  Servants  of  the  King 

from  his  simple  home  an  unknown  lad  and  died  as 
one  of  the  greatest  and  most  honored  of  men. 

From  his  earliest  childhood  he  was  of  a  calm,  self- 
reliant  nature.  We  are  told  by  his  best  biographer 
that  "it  was  his  father's  habit  to  lock  the  door  at 
dusk,  by  which  time  all  the  children  were  expected 
to  be  in  the  house.  One  evening  David  had  infringed 
this  rule,  and  when  he  reached  the  door  it  was 
barred.  He  made  no  cry  nor  disturbance,  but,  hav- 
ing procured  a  piece  of  bread,  sat  down  contentedly 
to  pass  the  night  on  the  doorstep.  There,  on  looking 
out,  his  mother  found  him.  ...  At  the  age  of  nine 
he  got  a  New  Testament  from  his  Sunday-school 
teacher  for  repeating  the  119th  Psalm  on  two  suc- 
cessive evenings  with  only  five  errors,  a  proof  that 
perseverance  was  bred  in  the  bone." 

At  the  age  of  ten  he  went  to  work  in  the  cotton 
factory  as  a  piecer,  and  after  some  years  was  pro- 
moted to  be  a  spinner.  The  first  half-crown  he 
earned  he  gave  to  his  mother.  With  part  of  his 
first  week's  wages  he  bought  a  Latin  text-book  and 
studied  that  language  with  ardor  in  an  evening  class 
between  eight  and  ten.  He  had  to  be  in  the  factory 
at  six  in  the  morning  and  his  work  ended  at  eight 
at  night.  But  by  working  at  Latin  until  midnight 
he  mastered  Virgil  and  Horace  by  the  time  he  was 
sixteen.  He  used  to  read  in  the  factory  by  putting 
the  book  on  the  spinning-jenny  so  that  he  could  catch 


David  Livingstone  5 

a  sentence  at  a  time  as  he  passed  at  his  work.  He 
was  fond  of  botany  and  geology  and  zoology,  and 
when  he  could  get  out  would  scour  the  country  for 
specimens.  On  one  expedition  he  and  his  brother 
caught  a  big  salmon,  and,  to  conceal  the  fish,  which 
they  had  no  right  to  take,  they  put  it  in  his  brother's 
trousers  leg  and  so  got  it  home. 

When  he  was  about  twelve  he  began  to  have  se- 
rious thoughts  about  deeper  things,  but  not  till  he 
was  twenty  did  the  great  change  come  which 
brought  into  his  life  the  strength  of  the  consciousness 
of  his  duty  to  God.  Feeling  "that  the  salvation  of 
men  ought  to  be  the  chief  desire  and  aim  of  every 
Christian,"  he  made  a  resolution  "that  he  would  give 
to  the  cause  of  missions  all  that  he  might  earn  be- 
yond what  was  required  for  his  subsistence."  But 
at  twenty-one  he  read  an  appeal  by  Mr.  Gutzlaff  on 
behalf  of  China,  and  from  that  time  he  sought  him- 
self to  enter  the  foreign  mission  field,  influenced  by 
"the  claim  of  so  many  millions  of  his  fellow  crea- 
tures and  the  want  of  qualified  missionaries."  So 
he  went  out  from  his  home  to  follow  the  advice  of 
old  David  Hogg,  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  the  village : 
"Now,  lad,  make  religion  the  every-day  business  of 
your  life,  and  not  a  thing  of  fits  and  starts;  for  if 
you  do,  temptation  and  other  things  will  get  the 
better  of  you." 


.> 

V 


6  Servants  of  the  King 

China  was  the  land  to  which  Livingstone  wished 
to  go,  but  the  opium  war  prevented  his  doing  so 
at  once.  About  the  same  time  he  came  into  con- 
tact with  Dr.  Robert  Moffat,  who  was  then  in 
England  creating  much  interest  in  his  South  African 
mission.  He  told  Livingstone  of  "a  vast  plain  to 
the  north  where  he  had  sometimes  seen,  in  the  morn- 
ing sun,  the  smoke  of  a  thousand  villages,  where  no 
missionary  had  ever  been,"  and  it  was  not  long 
before  the  young  Scotch  student  decided  for  Africa. 
Livingstone  was  thorough  in  his  preparation,  as  he 
was  in  all  things.  He  determined  to  get  a  medical  as 
^  well  as  a  theological  education.  To  do  it  he  had  to 
borrow  books,  to  earn  his  own  way,  and  to  live  with 
the  closest  economy,  paying  about  fifty  cents  a  week 
for  the  rent  of  his  room.  The  first  time  he  tried  to 
preach  he  entirely  forgot  his  sermon,  and  saying, 
"Friends,  I  have  forgotten  all  I  had  to  say,"  he  hur- 
ried out  of  the  pulpit  and  left  the  chapel.  One  of  his 
acquaintances  of  those  days  wrote,  years  after,  that 
even  then  his  two  strongest  characteristics  were  sim- 
plicity and  resolution.  "Now  after  forty  years,"  he 
adds,  'T  remember  his  step,  the  characteristic  for- 
ward tread,  firm,  simple,  resolute,  neither  fast  nor 
slow,  no  hurry  and  no  dawdle,  but  which  evidently 
meant — ^getting  there."      ^ 

On  December  8,  1840,  lie  sailed  for  Africa,  going 
out  by  way  of  Brazil  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


V 


David  Livingstone  7 

The  captain  of  the  ship  taught  him  the  use  of  the 
quadrant  and  how  to  take  observations.  He  was  to 
find  good  use  for  this  knowledge.  Arriving  at  the 
Cape,  he  went  on  to  his  first  station,  Kuruman,  but 
he  had  no  thought  of  staying  there  or  of  working 
in  any  fixed  groove.  He  was  thinking  of  new  plans, 
and,  above  all,  his  eyes  were  turned  northward  to- 
ward the  great  region  absolutely  untouched  and  un- 
known. The  first  period  of  his  work  might  be 
roughly  marked  as  from  1840  to  1852.  From  Kuru- 
man he  made  several  trips  deeper  into  the  country, 
and  had  some  of  those  experiences  with  lions  of 
which  he  was  to  have  so  many. 

On  one  trip  he  broke  a  finger,  and  when  it  was 
healing  broke  it  again  by  the  recoil  of  a  revolver 
which  he  shot  at  a  lion  which  made  him  a  sudden 
visit  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  Some  of  his  trips 
were  in  ox-wagons  and  some  on  ox-back.  *Tt  is 
rough  traveling,  as  you  can  conceive,"  he  wrote. 
"The  skin  is  so  loose  there  is  no  getting  one's  great- 
coat, which  has  to  serve  both  as  saddle  and  blanket, 
to  stick  on;  and  then  the  long  horns  in  front,  with 
which  he  can  give  one  a  punch  in  the  abdomen  if  he 
likes,  make  us  sit  as  bolt  upright  as  dragoons.  In 
this  manner  I  traveled  more  than  four  hundred 
miles."  His  investigations  were  undertaken  on  his 
own  responsibility.  He  wrote  home  to  ask  the  direc- 
tors of  the  London  Missionary  Society  to  approve. 


8  Servants  of  the  King 

but  if  they  did  not,  he  said,  he  was  at  their  disposal 
"to  go  anywhere,  provided  it  he  forward." 

He  soon  left  Kuruman  to  locate  at  Mabotsa,  and 
it  was  there  that  a  lion  nearly  killed  him,  tearing  his 
flesh  and  crushing  the  bone  in  his  shoulder,  A  na- 
tive diverted  the  attention  of  the  lion  when  his  paw 
was  on  Livingstone's  head.  When  asked  once  what 
he  thought  when  the  lion  was  over  him,  Livingstone 
answered :  "I  was  thinking  what  part  of  me  he 
would  eat  first."  When  years  later  his  body  was 
brought  home  to  England  it  was  by  the  false  joint 
in  the  crushed  arm  that  it  was  identified.  To  avoid 
friction  at  Mabotsa,  Livingstone,  who  had  just  built 
a  house  and  laid  out  a  garden,  but  who  would  quar- 
rel with  no  one,  gave  up  the  station  and  went  on  with 
the  daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary  Moffat,  the  great 
missionaries  of  South  Africa,  whom  he  had  just 
married,  and  established  a  new  station  at  Chonuane. 
But  there  was  no  water  there,  so  he  moved  again  to 
Kolobeng,  on  the  river  of  that  name,  and  the  whole 
tribe  among  whom  he  lived  moved  with  him. 

Kolobeng  was  unhealthful,  and  far  beyond  it 
stretched  the  vast  unknown  interior.  Something  in 
Livingstone's  heart  told  him  to  go  on.  So  on  he 
went.  On  August  i,  1849,  he  discovered  Lake 
'Ngami,  a  body  of  water  so  big  that  he  could  not  see 
the  opposite  shore.  And,  later,  he  found  the  River 
Zambezi.     The  lake  was  870  miles  from  Kuruman 


David  Livingstone  9 

across  a  desert.  He  must  find  a  passage  to  the  sea  on 
either  the  west  or  the  east  coast.  "Providence  seems 
to  call  me  to  the  regions  beyond,"  he  wrote,  and  he 
heard  ever  more  loudly  the  call  of  God  to  strike  at 
the  awful  slave  traffic.  But  what  should  he  do  with 
his  wife  and  children  ?  The  only  course  was  to  send 
them  home  to  Scotland.  So,  hard  as  it  was,  he  took 
them  to  Cape  Town  in  March,  1852,  the  whole  party 
appearing  out  of  the  interior  in  clothes  of  curious 
and  outworn  fashions,  having  been  eleven  years 
away  from  civilization,  and  in  April  he  parted  from 
his  family  and  turned  back  into  the  darkness. 

Before  he  reached  Kolobeng  the  Boers  had  at- 
tacked and  destroyed  that  station.  With  all  ties  to 
any  one  place  now  broken,  he  started  north,  and  in 
June,  1853,  reached  Linyanti,  fifteen  hundred  miles 
north  from  the  Cape.  It  was  a  hard  and  dangerous 
journey,  part  of  it  made  with  fever,  through  swamps 
and  thickets  and  water  three  or  four  feet  deep. 
"With  our  hands  all  raw  and  bloody  and  knees 
through  our  trousers,  we  at  length  emerged.  But," 
as  he  wrote  in  his  journals  on  the  way,  "if  God  has 
accepted  my  service,  then  my  life  is  charmed  till  my 
work  is  done.  ...  I  will  place  no  value  on  anything 
I  have  or  may  possess,  except  in  relation  to  the  king- ; 
dom  of  Christ.  If  anything  will  advance  the  inter- ' 
ests  of  that  kingdom,  it  shall  be  given  away  or  kept 
only  as  by  giving  or  keeping  of  it  I  shall  most  pro- 


lO  Servants  of  the  King 

mote  the  glory  of  him  to  whom  I  owe  all  my  hopes 
in  time  and  eternity.  May  grace  and  strength  suffi- 
cient to  enable  me  to  adhere  faithfully  to  this  reso- 
lution be  imparted  to  me,  so  that  in  truth,  not  in 
name  only,  all  my  interests  and  those  of  my  children 
may  be  identified  with  his  cause.  ...  I  will  try 
and  remember  always  to  approach  God  in  secret  with 
as  much  reverence  in  speech,  posture,  and  behavior 
as  in  public.  Help  me,  thou  who  knowest  my  frame 
and  pitiest  as  a  father  his  children."  Evidences  of 
the  curse  of  the  slave-trade  multiplied  constantly, 
and  he  saw  more  clearly  at  Linyanti  that  both  for 
the  suppression  of  that  traffic  and  for  the  expansion 
of  the  missionary  work  it  was  necessary  to  open  up 
the  continent. 

Accordingly,  on  November  ii,  1853,  he  started 
westward  for  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  on  May  31, 
1854,  came  out  at  Loanda,  about  two  hundred  miles 
south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Congo.  He  had  thirty- 
one  attacks  of  fever  on  the  way.  He  must  find  and 
make  his  own  road.  The  floods  and  rains  kept  him 
almost  constantly  wet.  Savages  opposed  him..  He 
had  no  white  companions.  He  arrived  ragged  and 
worn  and  exhausted,  to  find  no  letters  from  home 
waiting  for  him.  An  ordinary  man  would  have  felt 
that  he  had  done  enough  and  would  have  started  for 
home,  but  not  Livingstone.  He  plunged  back  into 
Africa  and  went  eastward  across  the  continent.    He 


David  Livingstone  1 1 

left  Loanda  September  24,  1854,  and  reached  Quili- 
mane,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Africa,  on  May  20, 
1856.  On  the  way  he  became  nearly  deaf  from  fever 
and  nearly  Wind  from  being  struck  in  the  eye  by  a 
branch  of  a  tree  in  the  forest.  On  this  trip  he  dis- 
covered the  great  Victoria  Falls,  higher  and  fuller 
than  Niagara,  and  he  had  yet  more  exciting  times 
with  savage  tribes,  whom,  as  always,  he  found  a  way 
to  placate.  From  Ouilimane  he  sailed  for  England, 
arriving  August,  1856.  At  Cairo  he  learned  of  the 
death  of  his  old  father,  who  had  longed  to  see  him 
once  again. 

He  got  a  tremendous  welcome  home.  The  ScotcH 
weaver  lad  who  had  been  all  alone  in  Africa  found 
himself  the  great  hero  of  the  day  in  Scotland  and 
England.  He  was  received  by  the  men  of  science, 
by  the  Queen  and  the  royal  family,  by  all  friends  of 
humanity.  He  was  given  the  freedom  of  the  cities 
of  London,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow,  and  honors  of 
the  Universities  of  Glasgow,  and  Oxford,  and  Cam- 
bridge. Unspoiled  by  all  the  flattery,  he  left  Eng- 
land to  return  to  Africa  on  March  10,  1858,  going 
out  now  to  Ouilimane  as  British  consul  for  the  east 
coast  and  interior  of  Africa.  As  he  sailed,  he  wrote 
back  to  his  son,  Tom : 

"London,  2nd  February,  1858. — My  Dear  Tom: 
I  am  soon  going  off  from  this  country,  and  will  leave 
you  to  the  care  of  him  who  neither  slumbers  nor 


12  Servants  of  the  King 

sleeps,  and  never  disappointed  any  one  who  put  his 
trust  in  him.  If  you  make  him  your  friend,  he  will 
be  better  to  you  than  any  companion  can  be.  He 
is  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother.  May 
he  grant  you  grace  to  seek  him  and  to  serve  him. 
I  have  nothing  better  to  say  to  you  than  to  take  God 
for  your  Father,  Jesus  for  your  Savior,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  for  your  sanctifier.  Do  this  and  you  are 
safe  forever.  No  evil  can  then  befall  you.  Hope 
you  will  learn  quickly  and  well,  so  as  to  be  fitted  for 
God's  service  in  the  world." 

"Pearl,  in  the  Mersey,  loth  March,  1858. — My 
Dear  Tom :  We  are  off  again,  and  we  trust  that  he 
who  rules  the  waves  will  watch  over  us  and  remain 
with  you,  to  bless  us  and  make  us  blessings  to  our 
fellow  men.  The  Lord  be  with  you,  and  be  very 
gracious  to  you !  Avoid  and  hate  sin,  and  cleave  to 
Jesus  as  your  Savior  from  guilt." 

It  was  six  years  before  Livingstone  returned 
again  to  England.  During  this  time  he  explored  the 
Zambezi  and  the  Shire  rivers,  making  his  way  about 
among  the  people,  whatever  the  difficulties,  always 
with  success,  because  he  knew  how  to  win  and  keep 
their  confidence  and  love  by  being  himself  ever 
truthful,  ever  fearless.  Mrs.  Livingstone  returned 
with  him  to  Africa  on  this  trip,  and  died  on  April 
27,  1862,  at  Shupanga,  where  she  was  buried,  and 
her  husband  went  on  alone  to  Lake  Nyasa,  making 


David  Livingstone  13 

unwearied  explorations,  surmounting  the  obstacles  of 
nature  and  bad  men,  and  learning  ever  more  and 
more  about  the  iniquity  of  the  trade  in  slaves. 

In  1864  he  went  to  India  and  thence  to  England 
for  the  last  time.  While  there  he  learned  of  the 
death  of  his  son  Robert,  who  fought  on  the  North- 
ern side  in  the  American  Civil  War  and  lies  buried 
at  Gettysburg,  and  his  mother  also  died  while  he 
was  on  his  way.  He  got  home  in  time  to  fulfil 
her  wish  that  one  of  her  laddies  should  lay 
her  head  in  her  grave.  He  had  another  crowded 
year,  which  included  the  writing  of  a  book, 
as  his  previous  visit  had  done,  and  then  with 
the  last  public  words  in  Scotland,  "Fear  God 
and  work  hard,"  he  returned  to  Africa  to  open 
up  the  unknown  eastern  interior.  This  time  his  con- 
nection was  with  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 
For  the  first  six  years  he  explored  eastern  equatorial 
Africa,  discovering  new  lakes,  rivers,  and  moun- 
tains, exposing  the  slave-trade,  suffering,  struggling, 
but  never  yielding.  One  Christmas  he  writes,  "Took 
my  belt  up  three  holes  to  relieve  hunger."  He  had 
no  white  companion,  and  in  1866  the  report  reached 
Zanzibar  that  he  had  been  killed. 

This  story  was  found  to  be  false,  but  still  no  white 
man  had  seen  Livingstone  for  a  long  time.  He  was 
not  seeking  to  be  seen,  however.  In  the  dark  of  the 
interior,  all  alone,  hungry  and  weary,  he  was  press- 


14  Servants  of  the  King 

ing  on  to  open  new  country  and  to  insure  the  future 
freedom  of  poor  and  oppressed  peoples.  In  1871 
he  was  reduced  to  the  last  straits,  all  the  goods  sent 
to  him  at  Ujiji  having  been  sold  by  the  rascal 
Shereef  to  whom  they  had  been  consigned ;  but  just 
then  Henry  M.  Stanley,  who  had  been  sent  by  the 
New  York  Herald  to  find  him,  came  to  him  after  a 
long  search,  bringing  him  ample  stores.  What  im- 
pression he  made  on  Stanley,  Stanley  himself  has 
told  us : 

"I  defy  any  one  to  be  in  his  society  long  without 
\j  thoroughly  fathoming  him,  for  in  him  there  is  no 
guile,  and  what  is  apparent  on  the  surface  is  the 
thing  that  is  in  him.  .  .  .  Dr.  Livingstone  is  about 
sixty  years  old,  though  after  he  was  restored  to 
health  he  looked  like  a  man  who  had  not  passed  his 
fiftieth  year.  .  .  .  You  may  take  any  point  in  Dr. 
Livingstone's  character  and  analyze  it  carefully,  and 
I  would  challenge  any  man  to  find  a  fault  in  it.  .  .  . 
His  is  the  Spartan  heroism,  the  inflexibility 
of  the  Roman,  the  enduring  resolution  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon — never  to  relinquish  his  work,  though 
his  heart  yearns  for  home;  never  to  surrender  his 
obligations  until  he  can  write  iinis  to  his  work." 

Refreshed  by  Stanley's  visit  and  the  supplies  he 
brought,  Livingstone  turned  inland  again,  hunting 
for  the  source  of  the  Nile  and  fighting  the  slave- 
trade.    The  iron  frame  had  been  taxed  almost  to  its 


INSCRIPTION'   OM  THE  TREE  IN  II.ALA,  AFRICA,   UNDER  WHICH   THE   HEART  OF 
LIVINGSTONE  WAS  BURIED 


David  Livingstone  15 

limit,  however,  and  ever  fresh  difficulties  had  to  be 
overcome.  His  last  birthday,  March  19,  1873,  found 
him  very  weak. 

"The  29th  of  April  was  the  last  day  of  his  travels. 
In  the  morning  he  directed  Susi  to  take  down  the 
side  of  the  hut  that  the  kitanda  might  be  brought  to 
him,  as  the  door  would  not  admit  it,  and  he  was  quite 
unable  to  walk  to  it.  Then  came  the  crossing  of  a 
river;  then  progress  through  swamps  and  plashes; 
and  when  they  got  to  anything  like  a  dry  plain  he 
would  ever  and  anon  beg  of  them  to  lay  him  down.' 
At  last  they  got  him  to  Chitambo's  village,  in  Ilala, 
where  they  had  to  put  him  under  the  eaves  of  a 
house  during  a  drizzling  rain,  until  the  hut  they 
were  building  should  be  got  ready. 

"Then  they  laid  him  on  a  rough  bed  in  the  hut, 
where  he  spent  the  night.  Next  day  he  lay  undis- 
turbed. He  asked  a  few  wandering  questions  about 
the  country — especially  about  Luapula.  His  people 
knew  that  the  end  could  not  be  far  off.  Nothing  oc- 
curred to  attract  notice  during  the  early  part  of  the 
night,  but  at  four  in  the  morning  the  boy  who  lay 
at  his  door  called  in  alarm  for  Susi,  fearing  that 
their  master  was  dead.  By  the  candle  still  burning 
they  saw  him,  not  in  bed,  but  kneeling  at  the  bedside 
with  his  head  buried  in  his  hands  upon  the  pillow. 
The  sad  yet  not  unexpected  truth  soon  became  evi- 
dent :  he  had  passed  away  on  the  farthest  of  all  his 


l6  Servants  of  the  King 

journeys,  and  without  a  single  attendant.  But  he 
had  died  in  the  act  of  prayer — prayer  offered  in  that 
reverential  attitude  about  which  he  was  always  so 
particular;  commending  his  own  spirit,  with  all  his 
dear  ones,  as  was  his  wont,  into  the  hands  of  his 
Savior;  and  commending  Africa — his  own  dear  Af- 
rica— with  all  her  woes  and  sins  and  wrongs,  to  the 
Avenger  of  the  oppressed  and  the  Redeemer  of  the 
lost." 

His  faithful  African  companions  prepared  his 
body  for  transportation  to  the  coast,  burying  his 
heart  and  other  organs  at  the  foot  of  a  mvula  tree 
in  Ilala,  which  is  now  marked  with  a  rough  inscrip- 
tion. The  body  they  carried  to  Zanzibar.  Thence 
it  was  taken  to  England  and  buried  in  the  Abbey 
under  the  great  slab  which  bears  his  name,  and  the 
feelings  of  the  whole  world  were  expressed  in  the 
lines  in  Punch: 


"Droop,  half-mast  colors,  bow,  bareheaded  crowds. 
As  this  plain  coffin  o'er  the  side  is  slung. 
To  pass  by  woods  of  masts  and  ratlined  shrouds, 
As  erst  by  Afric's  trunks,  liana-hung. 

"  'Tis  the  last  mile  of  many  thousands  trod 
With  failing  strength,  but  never-failing  will, 
By  the  worn  frame,  now  at  its  rest  with  God, 
That  never  rested  from  its  fight  with  ill. 

"Or  if  the  ache  of  travel  and  of  toil 

Would  sometimes  wring  a  short,  sharp  cry  of  pain 
From  agony  of  fever,  blain,  and  boil, 
'Twas  but  to  crush  it  down  and  on  again! 


David  Livingstone  17 

"He  knew  not  that  the  trumpet  he  had  blown 
Out  of  the  darkness  of  that  dismal  land, 
Had  reached  and  roused  an  army  of  its  own 
To  strike  the  chains  from  the  slave's  fettered  hand. 

"Now  we  believe,  he  knows,  sees  all  is  well ; 

How  God  had  stayed  his  will  and  shaped  his  way, 
To  brmg  the  light  to  those  that  darkling  dwell 
With  gains  that  life's  devotion  well  repay. 

"Open  the  Abbey  doors  and  bear  him  in 

To  sleep  with  king  and  statesman,  chief  and  sage, 
The  missionary  come  of  weaver-kin, 

But  great  by  work  that  brooks  no  lower  wage. 

"He  needs  no  epitaph  to  guard  a  name 

Which  men  shall  prize  while  worthy  work  is  known ;        / 
He  lived  and  died  for  good — be  that  his  fame  :  */ 

Let  marble  crumble:  this  is  Living — stone."  i 


HENRY    BENJAMIN    WHIPPLE 


19 


I  ask  only  Justice  for  a  wronged  and  neglected  race. 

~-Henry  Benjamin   Whipple 


20 


H.  0).  CxM^vV\AiL/ 


II 

HENRY  BENJAMIN  WHIPPLE 

THERE  are  causes  which  need  to  be  fought  for. 
Sometimes  it  is  right  to  fight  for  them  with 
arms,  though  it  is  terrible  when  it  is  so.  But  wrong 
is  not  to  be  allowed  to  flourish  unopposed,  and  those 
who  oppose  it  must  be  prepared  to  meet  it  fearlessly. 
Often  the  conflict  calls  for  no  physical  strife.  It  is  a 
moral  struggle.  But  it  is  a  struggle,  as  truly  as  the 
work  Paul  had  done  and  the  life  he  had  lived  seemed 
to  him  to  have  been  "a  good  fight."  And  Paul  was 
glad  that  he  had  fought  manfully,  had  put  his  soul  in 
it,  and,  whatever  his  own  fate,  had  prevailed.  That 
is  the  only  way  to  wage  any  battle. 

In  the  last  century  one  of  the  great  struggles  was 
for  justice  to  the  American  Indian.  Little  by  little 
his  lands  were  taken  from  him.  He  was  driven  west- 
ward from  the  East  and  eastward  from  the  West. 
Hemmed  in  by  the  encircling  and  ever-contracting 
lines  of  white  encroachment,  his  hunting-grounds 
were  destroyed,  the  money  promised  him  was  squan- 
dered before  it  reached  him,  or,  if  it  reached  him,  was 


22  Servants  of  the  King 

made  an  occasion  of  debauching  him,  his  manhood 
was  ruined  by  the  trade  in  Hquor,  vices  of  which 
he  never  knew  were  introduced,  and  the  solemn 
treaties  made  with  him  by  the  government  were 
broken.  At  one  of  the  councils  between  the  govern- 
ment representatives  and  the  chiefs  of  the  Sioux,  an 
aged  Sioux,  holding  in  his  hands  the  treaties  made 
with  the  Sioux,  said :  "The  first  white  man  who 
came  to  make  a  treaty  promised  to  do  certain  things 
for  us.  He  was  a  liar."  He  repeated  the  substance 
of  each  treaty,  always  ending  with,  "He  lied."  And 
his  accusation  was  true.  When  Red  Cloud  was  once 
asked  for  a  toast  at  a  public  dinner,  he  rose  and  said : 
"When  men  part  they  look  forward  to  meeting 
again.  I  hope  that  one  day  we  may  meet  in  a  land 
where  white  men  are  not  liars." 

The  Indians  needed  a  friend  who  would  fight  for 
them  in  their  struggle  against  the  Injustice  and 
wrong  with  which  they  were  forced  to  contend.  And 
God  raised  up  for  them  a  defender.  He  tells  us  that 
as  a  small  boy  he  had  a  foreshadowing  of  the  battles 
he  was  to  fight  for  his  "poor  Indians." 

"It  was  upon  the  occasion  of  a  quarrel,"  he  writes, 
"between  a  boy  much  older  than  myself  and  another 
half  his  size.  Indignant  at  the  unrighteousness  of 
an  unequal  fight,  I  rushed  upon  the  bully  and  in  due 
season  went  home  triumphant,  but  with  clothes  torn 
and  face  covered  with  blood.    My  dear  mother,  with 


Henry  Benjamin  Whipple  23 

an  expression  of  horror  upon  her  fine  face,  ran 
toward  me  and,  putting  her  arms  around  me,  cried : 
'My  darhng  boy,  what  has  happened?  Why  are 
you  in  this  dreadful  condition?'  *Yes,  I  know  it's 
bad,'  was  my  answer ;  'but,  mother,  you  ought  to  see 
the  other  fellow!'" 

This  boy  was  Henry  Benjamin  Whipple,  the  fu- 
ture Bishop  of  Minnesota,  and  the  unwearied  friend 
and  protector  of  the  Indians.  He  was  born  in 
Adams,  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  on  February 
15,  1822.  At  ten  years  of  age  he  was  sent  to  a 
boarding-school  in  Clinton,  New  York,  and  later  to 
Oberlin  College,  where  the  great  Charles  G.  Finney 
was  then  president.  His  health  failed  as  a  student, 
and  he  went  into  business  and  politics,  where  he  did 
so  well  that  when  his  health  improved  and  he  entered 
the  Episcopal  ministry,  Thurlow  Weed,  one  of  the 
leading  New  York  politicians,  said  that  he  "hoped 
a  good  politician  had  not  been  spoiled  to  make  a 
poor  preacher."  One  of  his  first  lessons  as  a  preacher 
was  from  an  old  judge,  who,  after  what  Henry  felt 
was  a  great  sermon,  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder 
and  said :  "Henry,  no  matter  how  long  you  live, 
never  preach  that  sermon  again.  Tell  man  of  the 
love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  you  will  help  him." 
'"It  taught  me,"  said  Bishop  Whipple,  "that  God's 
message  in  Jesus  Christ  is  to  the  heart." 

His  first  preaching  appointment  was  in  Rome, 


24  Servants  of  the  King 

New  York.  Then  he  went  to  Florida,  and,  working 
as  he  did  always  and  everywhere  for  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men,  gained  a  lifelong  interest  in  the 
negro.  Next  he  went  to  Chicago  and  established 
a  new  church  there,  gathering  the  people  in  from 
the  highways  and  hedges  and  visiting  every  shop 
and  saloon  and  factory  within  a  mile  of  his  hall. 
To  get  hold  of  the  railway  men  he  studied  the  struc- 
ture of  steam-engines. 

In  1859  Mr.  Whipple  was  elected  Bishop  of  Min- 
nesota, and  began  his  work  in  the  fall,  and  imme- 
diately visited  the  Indians,  of  whom  20,000  lived  in 
his  diocese — the  Chippewas,  Sioux,  and  Winneba- 
goes — and  saw  for  himself  their  dark  condition.  At 
the  same  time,  as  he  said  years  later,  he  never  found 
an  atheist  among  the  North  American  Indians,  and, 
though  the  field  was  hard,  that  was  the  more  reason 
for  not  neglecting  it. 

The  Bishop  chose  Faribault  as  his  headquarters, 
and  had  his  first  service  there  on  February  19,  i860. 
It  was  a  humble  beginning  in  an  insignificant  vil- 
lage. Now  there  are  a  Divinity  School,  with  gray- 
stone  buildings,  in  a  park  of  three  acres;  a  Girls' 
School,  with  pleasant  grounds,  and  Shattuck  School 
for  boys,  with  armory  and  elaborate  buildings  in  a 
place  of  160  acres.  Though  often  opposed,  even 
in  Faribault,  for  his  defense  of  the  Indians,  the 
Bishop  won  over  all    foes,    and    when    in    1895 


THE  REV.  J.  J.   ENMEGAHBOWH,  A  FULL-BLOOD  CHIPPEWA,  ORDAINED  BV 
BISHOP  HENRY  B.   WHIPPLE 


Henry  Benjamin  Whipple  25^ 

the  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  met  in  St,  Paul,  the  delegates  visited 
Faribault  at  the  invitation  of  its  citizens.  How  firm 
a  hold  the  Bishop  had  gained  upon  the  affections  of 
the  community  was  shown  by  what  followed.  There 
could  be  no  better  test  of  true  character.  One  of 
the  committee,  a  Roman  Catholic,  said,  "There  must 
be  a  four-horse  carriage  for  our  Bishop,"  and  when 
it  was  suggested  that  the  Bishop  would  think  it  un- 
necessary, he  exclaimed,  "The  Bishop  shall  have  a 
four-horse  carriage  if  I  pay  for  it  myself."  And 
when  a  Roman  Catholic  liveryman  was  asked  how 
many  carriages  he  could  furnish  for  the  occasion,  he 
answered,  "You  can  have  every  horse  and  carriage 
in  my  stable  without  a  dollar  of  expense." 

The  Bishop  had  plenty  of  rough-and-tumble  work 
to  do  in  the  early  years.  Among  other  things,  he 
learned  early  to  pull  teeth  and  to  practise  a  little 
medicine,  and  used  his  knowledge  on  his  next  visit 
at  White  Fish  Lake. 

"After  the  service  a  chief  came  to  me  and,  with 
his  hand  on  his  cheek,  said,  'Wibidakosi.'  With  a 
not  unmingled  sensation  I  boldly  answered,  *I  will 
help  you.'  He  opened  his  mouth,  and  to  my  dismay 
I  saw  that  the  sick  tooth  was  a  large  molar  on  the 
upper  jaw.  But  'in  for  a  penny,  in  for  a  pound.'  It 
was  a  comfort  to  remember  that  Indians  never  show 
signs  of  pain,  no  matter  how  great  the  agony.     I 


26  Servants  of  the  King 

followed  to  the  letter  all  the  good  doctor's  directions 
and  I  did  pull.  In  spite  of  appearances  I  knew  it 
was  the  'ligaments'  and  not  an  artery  that  I  had  cut, 
but  I  used  salt  as  heroically  as  I  did  the  forceps,  and 
it  was  with  no  small  degree  of  satisfaction  that  I 
heard  the  old  chief  telling  his  people  that  'Kichi- 
mekadewiconaye  was  a  great  medicine  man.'  " 

He  was  lost  in  winter  storms  on  the  prairie,  and 
he  roughed  it  to  and  fro  across  the  plains  and  among 
the  frontier  settlements,  without  any  thought  of 
sparing  himself,  only  rejoicing  that  he  could  preach 
the  real  gospel  to  hungry  hearts,  which  often  wel- 
comed it  in  earnest  but  homely  ways.  After  a  ser- 
mon preached  in  a  town,  an  old  woman  said  to  him, 
with  tears  in  her  eyes,  "Thank  God,  I  got  a  good 
boost  to-day."  A  border  man  once  said  to  him, 
"There  are  two  kinds  of  preaching,  one  with  the  lips 
and  one  with  the  life,  and  life-preaching  doesn't  rub 
out." 

In  1 862  and  again  later  there  were  outbreaks  among 
the  Indians  in  Minnesota,  in  which  fearful  outrages 
were  perpetrated,  but  which  would  never  have  oc- 
curred had  there  been  just  dealing  with  the  Indians. 
Bishop  Whipple  spoke  out  for  fair  dealing  and 
against  all  revenge.  In  so  doing  he  did  what  was 
very  unpopular.  He  fearlessly  met  the  hostility 
which  his  course  aroused.  When  urged  to  omit  his 
blackest  charges  against  the  nation  for  the  wrongs 


Henry  Benjamin  Whipple  27 

inflicted  on  the  Indians,  he  replied :  "They  are  true 
and  the  nation  needs  to  know  them!  And,  so  help 
me  God,  I  will  tell  them  if  I  am  shot  the  next  min- 
ute!" He  made  the  charges  before  a  gathering  in 
Cooper  Union,  New  York  City,  in  1868,  and  it  led 
to  the  organization  of  the  Indian  Peace  Commis- 
sion. But,  though  he  was  firm,  he  was  seeking  not 
to  arouse  enmity  but  to  produce  friendship,  and  he 
had  a  way  of  winning  men  which  led  Captain  Wil- 
kins  to  say  to  some  frontiersmen  whom  he  heard 
declare  that  they  "must  go  down  to  Faribault  and 
clean  out  that  Bishop" :  "Boys,  you  don't  know  the 
Bishop,  but  I  do ;  he  is  my  neighbor,  and  I  will  tell 
you  just  what  will  happen  when  you  go  down  to 
'clean  him  out.'  He  will  come  on  to  the  piazza  and 
talk  to  you  five  minutes,  and  you  will  wonder  how 
you  ever  made  such  fools  of  yourselves."  The  fron- 
tiersmen went  no  further. 

Bishop  Whipple  believed  that  it  was  rum  which 
made  most  havoc  among  the  Indians.  At  one 
Indian  council  he  spoke  very  plainly  against  the 
evils  of  the  use  of  the  fire-water.  The  head  chief  of 
this  band  sometimes  indulged  in  fire-water,  and,  be- 
ing a  cunning  orator,  he  arose  and  said : 

"You  said  to-day  that  the  Great  Spirit  made  the 
world  and  all  things  in  the  world.  If  he  did,  he 
made  the  fire-water.     Surely  he  will  not  be  angry 


28  Servants  of  the  King 

with  his  red  children  for  drinking  a  little  of  what 
he  has  made." 

Bishop  Whipple  answered : 

"My  red  brother  is  a  wise  chief,  but  wise  men 
sometimes  say  foolish  things.  The  Great  Spirit  did 
not  make  the  fire-water.  If  my  brother  will  show 
me  a  brook  of  fire-water  I  will  drink  of  it  with  him. 
The  Great  Spirit  made  the  corn  and  the  wheat,  and 
put  into  them  that  which  makes  a  man  strong.  The 
devil  showed  the  white  man  how  to  change  this  good 
food  of  God  into  what  will  make  a  man  crazy." 

The  Indians  shouted  "Ho!  ho!  ho!"  and  the  chief 
was  silenced. 

The  greater  part  of  the  work  of  his  diocese  was 
not  among  the  Indians,  but  in  the  fast-growing  cities 
and  towns  of  the  white  people.  Among  them  for 
nearly  half  a  century  Bishop  Whipple  went  to  and 
fro  establishing  churches  and  building  up  Christian 
institutions  and  winning  men  to  Christ.  This  last 
was  his  constant  work  wherever  he  was. 

He  was  tactful  in  trying  to  win  all  men.  Bishop 
Whipple  tells  the  following  story  in  his  remi- 
niscences. The  Lights  and  Shadows  of  a  Long 
Episcopate: 

"In  the  early  days  of  my  episcopate  I  often  trav- 
eled by  stage-coach,  and  my  favorite  seat  was  beside 
the  driver.  On  one  of  these  journeys  from  St.  Cloud 
to  Crow  Wing  the  driver  struck  one  of  the  wheel 


Henry  Benjamin  Whipple  29 

horses  who  was  shirking  his  duty,  accompanying  the 
blow  with  a  feartul  curse.  There  were  three  pas- 
sengers on  top  of  the  coach,  and,  waiting  until  they 
were  absorbed  in  conversation,  I  leaned  toward  the 
driver  and  said : 

"  'Andrew,  does  Bob  understand  English  ?' 

"  'What  do  you  mean.  Bishop?'  was  the  response. 
'Are  you  chaffing  me  ?' 

"  'No,'  I  answered.  'I  really  want  to  know  why 
the  whip  was  not  sufficient  for  Bob,  or  was  it  neces- 
sary to  damn  him  ?' 

"The  man  laughed  and  answered:  'I  don't  say 
it's  right,  but  we  stage-drivers  all  swear.' 

"  'Do  you  know  what  it  is  to  be  a  stage-driver  ?' 
I  asked. 

"  'I  ought  to  know,'  was  the  reply.  'I've  done  it 
all  my  Hfe;  it's  driving  four  horses.' 

"  'Do  you  think  that  is  all  ?'  I  asked. 

"  'Well,  it's  all  I  have  ever  found  in  it,'  was  the 
reply. 

"I  said:  'Andrew,  there  is  a  civil  war  going  on 
and  men  are  fighting  on  the  Potomac.  There  are 
five  hundred  troops  at  Fort  Ripley,  and  there  is  no 
telegraph.  There  may  be  an  order  in  this  mail-bag 
for  these  troops  to  go  to  the  front.  If  they  get  there 
before  the  next  battle,  we  may  win  it ;  if  not,  we  may 
lose  it.  When  you  go  down  to-morrow  there  may  be 
a  draft  in  the  mail-bag  for  a  merchant  to  pay  his 


30  Servants  of  the  King 

note  in  St.  Paul.  If  the  St.  Paul  man  receives  the 
draft,  he  will  pay  his  note  in  Chicago,  and  the  Chi- 
cago man  in  turn  can  pay  his  note  in  New  York. 
But  if  this  draft  does  not  go  through,  some  one  may 
fail  and  cause  other  failures,  and  a  panic  may  ensue. 
Andrew,  you  are  the  man  whom  God  in  his  provi- 
dence has  put  here  to  see  that  all  this  goes  straight, 
and  it  is  my  opinion  that  you  can  do  better  than  to 
use  his  name  in  cursing  your  horses.' 

"The  man  said  nothing  for  some  time,  and  then, 
looking  earnestly  into  my  face,  he  said : 

"  'Bishop,  you've  given  me  a  new  idea.  I  never 
thought  of  the  thing  in  that  way,  and,  God  helping 
me,  I  will  never  use  another  oath.' 

"It  changed  the  current  of  the  man's  life  and  he 
became  an  upright  and  respected  citizen." 

His  work  was  effective  with  men  because  they 
knew  he  loved  and  believed  that  God  loved  them. 
He  also  believed  in  the  unity  and  fellowship  of  all 
who  loved  Christ. 

"The  heaviest  sorrows  of  my  heart  have  come 
from  a  lack  of  love  among  brothers.  When  this 
love  shall  make  men  take  knowledge  of  us  that  we 
have  been  with  Jesus  and  compel  them  to  say,  'See 
how  these  Churchmen  love  one  another,'  we  may  be, 
in  God's  hands,  the  instruments  to  heal  these  divi- 
sions which  have  rent  the  seamless  robe  of  Christ. 
And  when  I  plead  for  love  I  plead  for  love  to  all  who 


Henry  Benjamin  Whipple  31 

love  Christ.  Shall  we  not  claim  as  our  kinsman 
Carey,  the  English  cobbler,  who  went  out  as  the  first 
missionary  to  India,  and  who  translated  for  them 
the  Bible;  and  Morrison,  the  first  missionary  to 
China ;  and  David  Livingstone,  who  died  for  Christ 
in  heathen  Africa;  and  Father  Damien.  who  gave 
his  life  to  save  lepers;  and  the  Moravians,  who  of- 
fered to  be  sold  as  slaves  if  the  King  of  Denmark 
would  permit  them  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  black 
men?" 

If  all  Christians  felt  this  way  more  men  would  be 
Christians. 

In  1865  Bishop  Whipple  wTnt  abroad  and  visited 
Egypt.  Five  years  later  he  was  in  Europe  again. 
In  1888  he  attended  the  Lambeth  Conference  of 
Bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church  in  England  and 
preached  the  opening  sermon.  On  this  visit  he  was 
given  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  by  Cambridge 
University,  and  made  an  Indian  speech  which  he 
said  "the  boys  cheered  like  mad."  In  1890  his  health 
led  him  again  to  Europe  and  Egypt,  and  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Queen  at  Windsor  Castle  and  preached 
in  Westminster  Abbey  on  his  Indians.  Seven  years 
later  he  was  in  England  again,  preaching  and  work- 
ing, and,  as  always,  commending  to  men  the  love  of 
their  Heavenly  Father.  In  1899  he  was  back  once 
more,  and  for  the  last  time,  to  represent  the  Protes- 


32  Servants  of  the  King 

tant  Episcopal  Church  at  the  Centenary  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  of  England. 

But,  though  he  went  to  and  fro,  he  never  laid  down 
the  work  of  his  own  field,  and  in  1871,  after  no  little 
struggle  of  mind,  refused  to  take  the  bishopric  of 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  offered  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  It  would  have  been  a  better  climate  for 
him,  but  he  loved  Minnesota,  and  at  that  time  the 
Indians  were  a  great  and  holy  responsibility.  When 
his  health  broke  he  got  it  repaired  again,  and  his  love 
of  fishing,  of  which  he  was  a  master,  and  of  open 
life  helped  to  keep  him  strong. 

Bishop  Whipple  knew  all  the  Presidents  of  the 
United  States  from  Jackson  to  McKinley.  He  was 
a  man  of  bright  and  hopeful  spirit.  He  said,  at  the 
close  of  his  volume  of  reminiscences : 

"My  readers  may  think  me  an  optimist,  but  a 
Christian  has  no  right  to  be  anything  else.  This  is 
God's  world,  not  the  devil's.  It  is  ruled  by  One  who 
is  'the  Lord  our  Righteousness,'  'the  same  yester- 
day and  to-day,  yea,  and  for  ever.'  .  .  .  Ours  is  not 
a  forlorn  hope.  We  may,  out  of  the  gloom  of  our 
perplexed  hearts,  cry,  'Watchman,  what  of  the 
night?'   But  faith  answers,  'The  morning  cometh.'  " 

Into  the  brightness  of  the  city,  where  there  is 
neither  evening  nor  morning,  but  light  forever,  and 
light  without  light  of  sun  or  light  of  moon  to  shine 
upon  it,  because  the  glory  of  God  alone  lightens  it, 


Henry  Benjamin  Whipple  33 

he  passed  on  September  16,  1901,  leaving  behind 
him  a  great  diocese  as  a  memorial,  and,  what  is  even 
more  than  a  great  diocese,  a  great  love  in  the  hearts 
of  men. 


WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


3$ 


I  belong  to  God.  —William  Taylor 


36 


^CXyUjt<2>^, 


Ill 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

OF  good  old  American  stock  which  ran  back  to 
the  days  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  Will- 
iam Taylor  was  born  in  Rockbridge  County,  Vir- 
ginia, May  2,  1 82 1.  He  was  the  first  child  in 
a  family  of  five  sons  and  six  daughters.  The  v^'arm, 
enthusiastic  faith  of  the  Methodist  Church  laid  hold 
on  his  father,  and  William  drew  breath  in  the  same 
atmosphere  and  was  marked  out  from  boyhood  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  was  sent  to  his  first 
circuit  under  appointment  by  the  presiding  elder 
when  he  was  twenty-one.  "He  is  muscular  and 
bony,"  said  Brother  Seaver,  describing  his  appear- 
ance at  Crabbottom,  "tall  and  slender,  with  an  im- 
mense pair  of  shoulders  on  him.  Being  a  tailor 
by  trade,  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  the  man  who 
cut  his  coat  ought  to  be  sent  to  the  penitentiary  and 
put  to  hard  labor  till  he  learns  his  business;  and 
as  for  the  pants,  all  I  have  to  say  is  that  the  widest- 
toed  boots  I  ever  saw  were  stuck  about  six  inches 
too  far  through.     The  young  man  is  awfully  in 

37 


38  Servants  of  the  King 

earnest,  and  preaches  with  power,  both  human  and 
divine,  and  can  sing  just  as  loud  as  he  Hkes." 

He  went  straight  at  men  for  their  Hves.  At  Red 
Holes  he  joined  the  men  in  log-rolling  in  the  woods 
the  afternoon  of  the  day  he  was  to  preach.  None  of 
them  could  match  him,  and  as  he  invited  them  to 
come  to  the  meeting  they  exclaimed :  "He's  a  tre- 
mendous fellow  to  roll  logs."  *'If  he  is  as  good  in 
the  use  of  the  Bible  as  he  is  of  the  handspike  he'll 
do."  "He's  the  boy  for  the  mountaineers."  "He 
don't  belong  to  your  Miss  Nancy,  soft-handed,  kid- 
gloved  gentry."  "Come  on,  boys,  we'll  hear  the 
new  preacher  to-night."  "In  that  afternoon,"  said 
he,  "I  got  a  grip  on  that  people  more  than  equivalent 
to  six  months'  hard  preaching  and  pastoral  work." 

His  salary  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  was 
$ioo  a  year,  and  he  did  not  need  to  spend  all  of 
this.  He  lived  in  the  saddle  and  in  his  saddle-bags, 
and  his  one  great  book  of  study  was  the  Bible.  On 
his  horse,  as  he  rode  about,  his  sermons  were  pre- 
pared and  his  great  spiritual  experiences  came  to 
him.  On  his  way  to  a  camp-meeting  on  the  Fin- 
castle  Circuit,  in  1845,  he  says:  "There,  on  my 
horse,  in  the  road,  I  began  to  say  more  emphatically 
than  ever  before :  *I  belong  to  God.  Every  fiber  of 
my  being  I  consecrate  to  him.  I  consent  to  perfect 
obedience !' "  That  was  the  way  he  ever  strove  to 
live. 


William  Taylor  39 

It  was  not  long  before  he  was  sent  from  the 
country  circuits  to  the  city,  first  to  Georgetown  and 
then  to  Baltimore.  Even  here  he  found  occasions 
when  his  great  physical  strength  was  an  advantage 
to  him. 

"One  of  my  class-leaders,"  he  said  of  an  experi- 
ence at  Georgetown,  "a  man  of  great  physical  pro- 
portions and  power,  teased  me  for  a  tussle.  I  said, 
'Oh,  my  dear  brother,  I  don't  want  a  reputation  of 
that  sort,'  and  put  him  off  a  number  of  times;  but 
one  evening  wife  and  I  accepted  an  invitation  to 
tea  at  Brother  Wardel's,  on  Bridge  Street,  and  as 
we  sat  conversing  with  the  family  and  a  few  guests, 
in  came  my  big  class-leader,  and  as  I  shook  hands 
with  him  he  said,  'Brother  Taylor,  I  have  come  to 
throw  you  down/  and  with  that,  pinning  both  my 
arms  in  his  embrace,  he  made  a  heave  against  me 
and  threw  me  down  in  the  presence  of  the  company. 
I  got  up  and  said,  'Well,  my  dear  brother,  if  nothing 
else  will  satisfy  your  curiosity  you  may  take  your 
hold  and  give  me  mine,  and  we  will  see  how  the 
game  will  go.'  So,  in  the  best  temper  possible,  we 
each  got  our  grip ;  I  embraced  him  kindly,  and  with 
my  right  wrist  in  the  grasp  of  my  left  hand,  and 
my  right  fist  clenched  and  set  in  the  small  of  his 
back,  with  a  sudden  heave  from  the  shoulders  and  a 
jerk  of  the  hand-grip  I  sent  him  on  a  straight  tum- 
ble, measuring  his  whole  length  on  the  floor,  while  I 


40  Servants  of  the  King 

kept  my  feet  and  in  a  second  stood  erect.  I  did  not 
utter  a  word,  but  went  and  sat  down  by  my  wife. 
The  brother  arose  quietly  and,  without  a  word,  took 
his  seat.  He  was  a  grand  and  good  man,  but  inno- 
cently playful.  I  knew  him  intimately  for  many 
years  afterward,  and  there  never  was  a  discordant 
note  struck  in  our  mutual  friendship;  but  I  never 
alluded  to  our  trial  of  strength  in  his  presence." 

While  in  Baltimore,  Bishop  Waugh  asked  him  to 
go  to  California  to  found  a  mission  there,  where 
the  discovery  of  gold  was  drawing  many  pioneers. 
Years  later  Taylor  wrote  of  this :  "I  replied,  'Well, 
Bishop  Waugh,  I  can  only  say,  when  I  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  Conference  the  question  was  put  to 
each  member  of  our  class,  "Are  you  willing  to  be 
appointed  to  foreign  missionary  work  in  case  your 
services  shall  be  needed  in  foreign  fields  ?"  Most  of 
the  class  put  in  qualifying  words  and  conditions, 
and  some  said  emphatically  "No !"  but  I  said  "Yes," 
I  had  not  thought  of  such  a  possibility,  and  had 
no  thought  of  offering  myself  for  that  or  any  other 
specified  work,  but  I  was  called  to  preach  the  gospel 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  under  the  old  commission,  "Go 
ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature,"  and  I  suppose  that  includes  California.  I 
never  volunteered  for  any  field  or  asked  for  an  ap- 
pointment to  any  particular  place,  but  have  always 
been  ready  and  am  now  to  accept,  as  a  "regular  in 


William  Taylor  41 

the  service,"  an  appointment  under  the  appointing 
authority  of  our  Church  to  any  place  covered  by  the 
great  commission.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  that  I 
am  the  man  suitable  for  California,  but  leaving  my- 
self entirely  at  God's  disposal,  giving  you  wisdom  to 
express  his  will  concerning  me,  I  will  cheerfully 
accept  your  decision  and  abide  by  it.'  " 

He  went  home  and  consulted  his  wife,  and  in 
1849  they  sailed  for  California,  via  Cape  Horn,  tak- 
ing with  him  a  chapel  24x36  feet  all  ready  to  be  put 
together.  Everything  was  costly  in  those  days. 
Rent  for  a  shanty  was  $500  a  month.  So  William 
Taylor  went  into  the  woods,  cut  down  timber, 
hauled  it,  and  built  a  house  and  made  his  work  self- 
supporting  almost  from  the  start.  He  preached  on 
the  streets  of  San  Francisco,  visited  the  hospitals, 
worked  with  sailors,  miners,  and  merchants,  and 
dealt  with  tact  and  love  with  all  classes  of  the  raw 
and  variegated  society  of  the  new  city. 

After  seven  years  in  California,  Taylor  returned 
to  the  East  and  preached  over  the  Eastern  States  and 
Canada.  Nothing  ever  daunted  him.  "I  think  I 
could  count  on  my  fingers,"  he  said,  "the  times  I 
failed  through  a  period  of  fifty  years  to  keep  my 
appointments,  and  they  were  on  account  of  snow- 
drifts and  floods  well  known  to  the  people."  He  had 
what  one  called  *'the  locomotive  habit."  "He  must 
go  and  go,"  said  Ridpath.     "Of  course,  while  he 


42  Servants  of  the  King 

was  speaking  the  demands  of  his  nervous  nature 
were  satisfied  with  that  kind  of  expenditure.  But  I 
think  he  could  neither  sit  nor  stand  nor  pose.  We 
have  in  physical  nature  what  is  called  the  unstable 
equilibrium.  This  William  Taylor  had  in  his  inner 
man.  I  do  not  mean  to  compare  this  venerable 
apostle  of  the  nineteenth  century  with  the  eldest  of 
Jacob's  sons.  The  instability  in  the  case  of  the 
bishop  relates  only  to  the  excess  and  vehemence  of 
his  nervous  forces,  demanding  action,  action,  action." 

He  had  a  wonderful  energy  of  speech,  and  his 
preaching  was  just  direct  personal  conversation 
fitted  to  the  exact  circumstances,  and  his  ceaseless 
aim  was  to  save  souls. 

In  February,  1862,  he  was  preaching  in  Peter- 
boro,  Canada,  and  was  the  guest  of  a  gentleman 
who  had  been  in  Australia,  and  who  told  him  of  the 
conditions  there.  He  went  out  into  the  forest, 
kneeled  down  in  the  snow,  and  asked  God  whether 
he  ought  to  go  to  Australia.  He  was  convinced 
that  he  ought.  His  family  returned  to  California, 
and  he  sailed  August  i,  1862,  for  Liverpool  on  his 
way.  For  seven  months  he  worked  as  an  evangelist 
in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  then  went  on  to 
the  Holy  Land.  There  his  long  patriarchal  beard 
secured  him  reverential  treatment  from  the  Ori- 
entals, including  the  Moslems,  as  he  traveled  over 
the  land  and  visited  the  holy  places.     In  Australia 


William  Taylor  43 

he  carried  on  evangelistic  campaigns  for  three  years, 
conducting  great  revivals.  "The  three  annual  ses- 
sions of  the  Australian  Conference,"  wrote  Taylor 
long  afterward,  "held  during  the  period  of  my  labors 
within  its  bounds,  covering  a  period  of  nearly  three 
years,  reported  a  net  increase  in  their  churches  of 
over  eleven  thousand  members." 

From  Australia  Taylor  planned  to  go  on  to  India, 
and  sent  for  his  family.  The  mother  and  three  sons 
came  to  Sydney,  and  Taylor  was  summoned  there 
from  Melbourne  by  the  news  that  the  oldest  of  the 
boys  was  very  sick  of  fever. 

"The  steamer  from  Melbourne  to  Sydney  was 
packed  from  stem  to  stern  with  a  crowd  of  fast 
men  who  were  on  their  way  to  a  shooting-match. 
'  They  spent  their  evenings  largely  around  the  dining- 
table,  playing  cards,  smoking  cigars,  drinking 
brandy,  and  cracking  jokes.  So  my  book  on  holi- 
ness, which  has  had  a  circulation  of  about  thirty 
thousand  copies,  was  mainly  written  in  the  midst 
of  that  crowd  by  the  same  light  in  which  they  were 
playing  cards,  with  oaths  from  the  unlucky  losers. 

"I  had  not  seen  my  family  for  over  four  years. 
I  kissed  my  wife  and  wept.  Ross  had  grown  out  of 
my  knowledge;  I  took  him  into  my  arms  and  kissed 
him  and  said,  'Ross,  do  you  know  me?'  He  said 
*Yes,  papa.'  'How  did  you  come  to  know  me?' 
'My  mother  told  me  it  was  you.'     So  he  received 


44  Servants  of  the  King 

me  by  faith,  based  on  his  mother's  testimony.  Then 
Edward,  who  was  only  two  years  old  when  I  left 
him,  came  in.  I  took  him  into  my  arms  and  kissed 
him  and  said,  'Do  you  remember  me?'  'Yes,  papa.' 
'How  did  you  come  to  know  me  ?'  'Oh,  I  remember 
you  very  well.'  He  probably  remembered  me  by 
my  photo,  with  which  he  was  familiar.  Our  poor 
son  Stuart  was  suspended  in  a  doubtful  scale  be- 
tween life  and  death.  Dr.  Moffitt,  an  eminent  phy- 
sician, in  consultation  with  another,  was  doing  the 
best  he  could.  Ross,  Edward,  and  I  went  into  a 
retired  place  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city  and  had  a 
prayer-meeting  for  their  brother.  I  prayed  with  all 
the  earnestness  of  a  broken  heart ;  Ross  prayed  and 
Edward  prayed,  and  the  three  of  us  wept  together. 
Soon  Stuart  began  to  show  signs  of  recovery.  We 
were  then  on  the  eve  of  the  hot  season  in  Australia." 

So  the  doctor  advised  their  going  to  South  Africa, 
and  thither  they  went. 

In  South  Africa,  Taylor  preached  to  English, 
Dutch,  and  natives,  to  the  Dutch  and  natives  through 
interpreters,  but  apparently  with  no  less  power  on 
that  account,  although  he  had  difficulty  in  getting 
interpreters  who  would  speak  as  naturally  and  di- 
rectly as  he  always  did  and  urged  that  others  should 
do.  Most  of  his  time  he  spent  among  the  Kaffirs, 
conducting  revivals  and  organizing  the  work.  He 
regarded  it  as  a  military  campaign,  and  appealed  to 


William  Taylor  45 

men  to  throw  themselves  into  work  for  Christ  as 
into  a  great  war.  "Such  a  work  would  wake  the 
heroic  elements  of  man's  nature.  How  they  are 
brought  out  by  the  tocsin  of  war!  Within  the  last 
five  years  nearly  a  million  of  men  have  laid  down 
their  lives  on  the  altar  of  patriotism.  A  low  type 
of  Christianity  that  does  not  enlist  and  employ  the 
whole  man  sinks  down  to  a  formal  secondary  thing 
with  him,  and  the  active  elements  of  his  nature  are 
carried  off  into  other  channels  of  enterprise.  The 
heroic  power  of  man's  nature,  enlisted  and  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  essentially  the  old  martyr 
spirit  which  kept  the  gospel  chariot  moving  in  the 
olden  times.  What  had  Garibaldi  ever  to  offer  to 
his  soldiers?  But  did  he  ever  call  in  vain  for  an 
army  of  heroes  ready  to  do  or  die?  He  knew  how 
to  arouse  the  heroic  element  of  men's  hearts. 

"Every  passion  and  power  of  the  human  mind 
and  heart  should  be  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  designed. 
There  is  no  field  of  enterprise  to  which  the  heroic 
element  of  our  nature  is  better  adapted  or  more 
needed  than  the  great  battle-field  for  souls,  enlisting 
all  the  powers  of  hell  on  the  one  side  and  all  the 
powers  of  heaven  on  the  other.  What  a  heroic 
record  the  Gospels  give  of  the  labors,  sufferings, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  the  Captain  of  our  sal- 
vation and  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  trained  under 


46  Servants  of  the  King 

his  personal  ministry!  Give  these  gospel  methods 
of  aggression  a  fair  trial  in  southern  Africa." 

In  1866  Taylor  went  with  his  family  to  England. 
Here,  as  in  all  his  work,  he  believed  in  and  prac- 
tised self-support.  At  Tunbridge  Wells  a  gentle- 
man handed  him  a  check  for  a  hundred  pounds  as 
a  present. 

"I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,"  writes  Taylor 
in  his  Story  of  My  Life,  "but  informed  him  it  was 
a  principle  with  me  not  to  receive  presents  from 
anybody,  and  passed  it  back  to  him.  He  stood  silent 
for  a  few  moments  in  apparent  surprise ;  he  had  not 
been  accustomed  to  meet  men  of  that  sort. 

"  'But  you  sell  books,  do  you  not  ?'  said  he, 

"  'Yes,  I  have  two  methods  of  extending  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  among  men,  the  pulpit  and  the 
press.  I  depend  on  the  press,  by  means  of  my 
books,  to  pay  a  big  church  indebtedness,  support  my 
family,  and  meet  all  my  traveling  expenses,  all  on 
the  principle  of  business  equivalents,  and  decline  to 
receive  gifts.' 

"  'Well,'  said  he,  'will  you  give  me  an  open  order 
on  your  binder  for  all  the  books  I  want  to  buy?' 

"  'Yes,  sir ;  that  is  business  on  my  line.' 

"He  was  the  only  man  who  got  a  chance  to  help 
me  found  the  self-supporting  churches  in  India,  out 
of  which  four  Annual  Conferences  are  being  de- 
veloped.    I  never  asked  him   for  anything,  never 


William  Taylor  47 

hinted  to  him  that  I  was  in  need  of  money,  but  in 
assisting  to  build  houses  of  worship  for  our  Indian 
churches,  I  seldom  ever  felt  the  pressure  of  need  that 
I  did  not  receive  a  check  from  Brother  Reed  on 
book  account." 

In  a  few  months  Mrs.  Taylor  and  the  younger 
children  returned  to  San  Francisco,  and  Mr.  Taylor 
went  to  the  West  Indies.  The  whole  world  was 
indeed  his  parish.  He  visited  and  preached  in  Bar- 
bados and  British  Guiana,  in  Trinidad,  Jamaica,  and 
other  islands.  At  Georgetown,  Demerara,  he  found 
the  District  Conference  assembled  and  in  a  snarl. 
One  of  the  revivals  which  he  stirred  wherever  he 
went  lifted  the  conference  beyond  its  controversy,  but 
one  brother  kept  reviving  it.  "So  I  said  to  him," 
writes  Taylor,  "Brother  Greathead,  I  want  to  tell 
you  a  story,"  and  he  said  "All  right." 

"I  have  heard  of  a  man  who  killed  an  opossum. 
He  killed  it  dead  and  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground  and 
buried  it.  A  neighbor  saw  him  go  every  few  days 
for  a  fortnight  and  dig  up  the  opossum  and  give 
him  another  mauling.  He  said,  'What  do  you  mean 
by  digging  up  that  opossum?  You  killed  him  dead 
the  first  time.  You  keep  digging  him  up  and  beat- 
ing him ;  what  do  you  mean  ?'  Said  he,  *I  want  to 
mellow  him.' 

"I  said,  'Now,  Brother  Greathead,  we  killed  and 


48  Servants  of  the  King 

buried  an  old  opossum  last  Sunday,  and  we  must 
let  him  sleep.'  " 

His  next  work  was  in  Australia  and  Tasmania 
again,  after  a  short  trip  to  Europe  in  1869  and 
1870,  and  then  he  began  his  campaign  in  India, 
landing  in  Bombay  on  November  20,  1870,  and 
going  up  straightway  to  the  great  Methodist  center 
of  work  at  Lucknow.  He  began  at  once  to  work 
for  the  Eurasians,  the  people  of  mixed  European 
and  Indian  blood,  who  constituted  a  large  class  in 
India  and  for  whom  little  had  been  done.  He  urged 
that  their  souls  were  as  precious  as  any,  and  that 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  strength  among  them  which 
should  be  in  use  in  the  evangelization  of  India.  He 
worked  also  among  Parsees,  Hindus,  and  Moham- 
medans, and  his  message  laid  hold  of  them.  Some 
Afghan  Moslem  soldiers  at  one  meeting  declared, 
"This  preaching  is  all  true.  It  has  loosened  a  knot 
in  our  hearts,  and  we  are  untying  it."  But  the  great 
work  was  for  the  Eurasian  people,  and  his  idea  was 
to  build  up  self-supporting  churches.  "We  are  not 
opposed,"  he  wrote,  "to  missionary  societies,  or  to 
the  appropriation  of  missionary  funds  to  any  and 
all  missions  which  may  require  them.  Our  ground 
on  this  point  is  simply  this :  There  are  resources  in 
India,  men  and  money,  sufficient  to  run  at  least  one 
great  mission.  If  they  can  be  rescued  from  worldly 
waste  and  utilized  for  the  soul-saving  work  of  God, 


William  Taylor  49 

why  not  do  it?  All  admit  that  self-support  is,  or 
should  be,  the  earnest  aim  of  every  mission.  If  a 
work  in  India,  the  same  as  in  England  or  America, 
can  start  on  this  healthy,  sound  principle,  is  it  not 
better  than  a  long,  sickly,  dependent  pupilage,  which 
in  too  many  instances  amounts  to  pauperism?  I  am 
not  speaking  of  missionaries,  but  of  mission  churches. 
We  simply  wish  to  stand  on  the  same  platform  ex- 
actly as  our  churches  in  America,  which  began  poor 
and  worked  their  way  up  by  their  own  industry  and 
liberality,  without  funds  from  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety. The  opening  pioneer  mission  work  in  any 
country  may  require,  and  in  most  cases  has  required 
and  does  require,  some  independent  resources  which 
the  pioneer  missionary  brings  to  his  new  work  be- 
fore he  can  develop  it  or  make  it  self-supporting. 
Thus  St.  Paul  depended  on  his  skill  as  a  tent-maker, 
and  missionaries  ordinarily  have  to  depend  on  mis- 
sion funds.  Ten  times  the  amount  of  all  the  money 
now  raised  for  mission  purposes  would  not  be  ade- 
quate to  send  one  missionary  for  each  hundred  thou- 
sand of  heathens  now  accessible." 

The  work  in  India  grew  greatly  under  his  tire- 
less, restless  activity,  and  he  became  superintendent 
of  the  churches  which  were  established  on  the  in- 
dependent basis  in  which  he  believed.  Long  before 
his  death,  however,  the  work  in  India  and  elsewhere 
which  he  had  founded  passed  into  connection  with 


5©  Servants  of  the  King 

the  regular  machinery  of  the  Church.  His  work 
was  to  give  the  great  initial  impulse. 

From  India  he  returned  in  1877  to  the  United 
States,  and  sailed  that  fall  for  South  America.  "I 
did  not  wish  our  friends  to  see  us  off,"  said  he,  "and 
they  didn't  come.  I  always  prefer  to  come  in  and 
go  out  as  quietly  as  possible;  indeed,  coming  and 
going  all  the  time,  as  I  have  been  doing  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  my  friends  could  not  an- 
ticipate my  changes. 

"On  the  eve  of  one  of  my  departures  from  London 
to  Australia  a  gentleman  said,  'Mr.  Taylor,  what  is 
your  address  now  ?' 

"  'I  am  sojourning  on  the  globe,  at  present,  but 
don't  know  how  soon  I  shall  be  leaving.'  " 

His  funds  were  low,  and  he  went  third-class. 
"I  believed,"  he  said,  "that  my  dignity  would  keep 
for  eighteen  days  in  the  steerage."  On  the  West 
Coast  he  found  many  foreign  communities  which 
were  willing  to  promise  support  to  teachers  from  the 
United  States  if  Mr.  Taylor  would  furnish  them. 
He  saw  his  opportunity  in  this,  and  returned  to  find 
the  twelve  men  and  six  women  he  wanted.  He  sent 
them  out  to  support  themselves  and  do  such  mis- 
sionary work  as  they  could  in  Chile,  Peru,  Ecuador, 
Panama,  Costa  Rica,  Nicaragua,  and  Brazil. 
Many  of  them  met  with  great  difficulties  and  re- 
turned home.     In  some  cases  useful  and  influential 


William  Taylor  51 

schools  were  established  which  abide.  The  whole 
work  is  now  under  the  regular  care  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  through  its  bishops  and  missionary 
society.  The  plan  of  self-support  is  often  prac- 
ticable, and  there  must  be  room  for  such  free  and 
independent  workers,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  William 
Taylor's  missions,  the  loss  and  waste  would  be  much 
greater  than  it  has  been,  if  there  were  not  permanent 
missionary  organizations  which  believe  in  self-sup- 
port as  earnestly  as  Taylor  did,  but  which  believe, 
also,  in  the  value  of  organized  and  sustained  effort. 
The  mistake  which  Bishop  Taylor  made  was  in  ex- 
pecting the  native  Church  to  support,  not  only  its 
native  workers,  but  also  the  foreign  missionaries. 

In  1884  the  old  rugged  warrior,  now  grown  gray, 
was  made  Missionary  Bishop  of  Africa.  "I  was 
not  a  candidate  for  any  office  in  the  gift  of  that 
venerable  body,"  said  Taylor,  in  discussing  his 
election.  "Subsequently,  when  nominated  for  the 
missionary  episcopate  of  Africa,  I  hurriedly  inquired 
of  a  number  of  the  leading  members  of  that  body 
whether  or  not  that  meant  any  interference  with 
my  self-supporting  mission  work;  if  so,  I  should 
certainly  refuse  to  have  the  nomination  submitted. 
They  assured  me  that  the  General  Conference  had  no 
such  design,  but  just  the  opposite ;  that  they  wanted 
me  to  introduce  self-supporting  methods  into  Africa ; 


52  Servants  of  the  King 

and  that  fact  was  compressed  into  the  short  sentence 
of  'Turn  him  loose  in  Africa.'  " 

He  went  out  with  a  company  of  over  forty  men, 
women,  and  children.  At  St.  Paul  de  Loanda  one 
died,  and  eight  or  ten  more,  sick  or  discouraged, 
returned  home.  The  remainder  settled  in  Angola, 
Leaving  his  first  company  there,  Taylor  returned  to 
Europe,  saw  the  King  of  Portugal,  in  whose  terri- 
tory he  had  begun  his  new  work,  and  the  King  of 
Belgium,  the  head  of  the  Congo  Free  State,  in  which 
the  second  chain  of  stations  was  soon  begun,  to  be 
followed  by  an  enlarged  work  in  Liberia.  The  great 
service  which  he  performed  for  Africa  was  in  lifting 
his  Church  out  of  the  narrow  limits  of  Liberia  and 
committing  it  to  a  continental  task.  For  twelve 
years  Bishop  Taylor  worked  in  Africa,  and  then  in 
1896  was  retired  from  active  duty.  The  old  man 
accepted  his  retirement  like  a  soldier^  and  issued  a 
note  in  which  he  said : 

"Many  of  my  friends  think  and  declare  that  the 
action  of  the  General  Conference  which  kindly  put 
my  name  on  the  honorable  list  of  retired  heroes,  such 
as  Bishop  Bowman  and  Bishop  Foster,  was  a  mis- 
take. No  such  thought  ever  got  a  night's  lodging 
in  my  head  or  heart.  I  have  for  fifty-four  years 
received  my  m.inisterial  appointments  from  God.  If 
any  mistakes  were  made,  through  the  intervention  of 
human  agency,  they  did  not  fall  on  me.     For  the 


William  Taylor  53 

last  twelve  years  God  has  used  me  in  Africa  as 
leader  of  a  heroic  host  of  pioneer  missionaries  in 
opening  vast  regions  of  heathendom  to  direct  gospel 
achievement,  which  will  go  on  'conquering  and  to 
conquer'  till  the  coming  of  the  King,  if  no  bishop 
should  visit  them  for  half  a  century,  but  the  General 
Conference  has  appointed  as  my  episcopal  successor 
a  tried  man  of  marvelous  adaptability. 

"Bequests  and  deeds  to  mission  property  are  made 
to  Bishop  William  Taylor  or  to  his  'living  successor.' 
Bishop  J.  C.  Hartzell  is  now  my  'living  successor.' 
If  he  should  die,  or  superannuate,  then  the  episcopos 
appointed  by  the  General  Conference  to  take  his 
place  at  the  front  would  be  my  'living  successor.' 
I  bespeak  for  Bishop  Hartzell,  on  behalf  of  my 
work  and  faithful  workers  at  the  front,  all  the  lov- 
ing sympathy  and  financial  cooperation  of  all  my 
beloved  patrons  and  partners  in  this  great  work  of 
God.  'And  you  are  going  to  lie  on  the  shelf?'  I 
am  not  a  candidate  for  'the  shelf.'  I  am  accustomed 
to  sleep  in  the  open  sparkling  of  the  stars,  and  re- 
spond to  the  bugle  blast  of  early  morn. 

"At  present 

God  calls  me  from  mudsill  preparation — 

John  the  Baptist  dispensation — 
To  proclaim   more  widely  the  Pauline   story 

Of  our  coming  Lord  and  of  his  glory. 

"Under  this  call  of  God  I  expect  to  lead  thousands 


'54  Servants  of  the  King 

of  Kaffirs  into  his  fold.  In  an  evangehzing  cam- 
paign of  a  few  years  through  southern  and  eastern 
Africa  I  will,  D.  V.,  strike  the  warpath  of  the  grand 
heroic  leader  of  our  Inhambane  and  South  Zambezi 
missions — Rev.  E.  H.  Richards.  I  will,  D.  V.,  go 
directly  from  New  York  to  Cape  Town,  South 
Africa." 

And  thither  he  went,  and  during  fourteen  months 
of  further  labors,  until  his  voice  failed,  won  many 
more  converts  to  Christ. 

On  May  i8,  1902,  at  Palo  Alto,  Cal.,  the  old 
missionary,  who  had  preached  on  every  continent 
and  founded  churches  in  many  lands,  finished  his 
work.  He  was  one  who  had  ideas  of  his  own  and 
whose  work  other  men  have  had  to  carry  forward  on 
other  plans.  But  he  wrought  with  mighty  power 
and  unafraid  of  all  that  might  oppose.     He  was  one 


"Who  never  turned  his  back,  but  marched  breast-forward, 

Never  doubted  clouds  would  break, 
Never  dreamed  tho'  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would  triumph. 
Held  we  fall  to  rise,  are  baffled  to  fight  better. 
Sleep  to  wake." 


ALICE    JACKSON 


ss 


Father,  make  us  pure  and  holy, 

Father,  make  us  good; 
Show  us  how  to  love  each  other 

As  we  should. 

— Alice  Jackson 


S6 


ill^c-^  /c::-t^<^e^^^^«-t_ 


IV 

ALICE  JACKSON 

ALICE  JACKSON  was  born  at  Styal, Cheshire, Eng- 
land, on  December  19,  1876.  Her  father,  Stan- 
way  Jackson,  was  an  ardent  Liberal  in  politics,  an  effec- 
tive party  worker,  and  a  powerful  platform  speaker. 
He  had  a  keen  interest,  which  Alice  inherited,  in  all 
movements  of  social  progress,  and  his  interest,  as 
hers,  sought  expression  in  practical  helpfulness.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Church,  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school,  teacher  of  a  men's  Bible  class,  and 
leader  of  a  children's  service.  On  her  mother's  side, 
Alice  was  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Congrega- 
tional ministers,  and  from  both  sides  of  the  family 
inherited  her  interest  in  foreign  missions.  Alice 
was  brought  up  by  her  mother  and  father,  the  latter 
of  whom  died  when  she  was  nearly  thirteen,  with 
the  idea  that  work  in  the  church  and  for  the  com- 
munity was  a  matter  of  course. 

In  October,  1884,  the  family  came  to  America  and 
made  its  home  at  Englewood,  N.  J.,  where  Alice 
lived  until  she  went  away  to  Smith  College  in  the 

57 


58  Servants  of  the  King 

fall  of  1894.  She  was,  like  many  children,  shy  and 
diffident,  and  often  shrank  from  meeting  people.  In 
her  simple  unselfishness  she  would  think  she  was  not 
wanted  in  one  or  another  company,  and  would  re- 
tire, accordingly,  into  the  background.  She  had  an 
intense  reticence  of  character,  which  always  made 
it  hard  and  therefore  all  the  more  impressive  for  her 
to  speak  of  the  deepest  things.  She  was  not  a  very 
strong  child,  and  this  brought  the  temptation  of  irri- 
tability, and  one  of  her  first  battles  was  the  battle 
which  she  victoriously  won  for  self-control.  When 
the  shadow  of  a  great  limitation  fell  in  later  years 
and  she  suffered  much,  even  her  closest  friends 
would  not  have  known  it  from  any  outward  betrayal, 
and  she  had  learned  this  lesson  of  complete  self-mas- 
tery as  a  child. 

Her  childhood,  as  all  her  later  life,  was  filled  with 
joyous  good  humor  and  playfulness  of  spirit.  She 
had  a  great  desire  to  hear  funny  things  to  make  her 
laugh.  As  a  child  she  would  say,  "Tell  me  some- 
thing funny.  I  like  to  laugh."  And  in  later  years 
she  always  saw  the  ludicrous  side  of  things,  and  no 
one  who  ever  heard  can  forget  the  silvery  ripple  of 
that  laughter  which  lightened  all  her  talk.  She  was 
very  fond  in  these  early  years  of  big  words  and  of 
pets  and  of  all  living  things.  She  informed  an  older 
sister  one  day  that  she  knew  a  certain  person  was 
engaged  to  be  married,  for  she  saw  her  wear  a  dia- 


Alice  Jackson  59 

mond  ring,  and  "so  my  superstitions  were  imme- 
diately enlarged." 

She  was  not  a  robust  child.     How  serious  her 
physical  limitations  were  few  ever  discovered,  ex- 
cept when  she  was  suffering  from  the  disease  which 
ended  her  life.    She  appeared  to  work  with  exhaust- 
less  energy.     During  her  college  course,  in  spite  of 
her  childhood's  delicate  health,  she  was  exceptionally 
proficient  in  athletic  games.     That  was  in  part  due 
to  her  nervous  energy  and  in  part  to  her  indomitable 
purpose.    What  she  made  up  her  mind  to  do  she  did, 
and  nothing  could  change  any  purpose  she  had  dis- 
tinctly formed.    She  would  readily  give  up  any  wash 
of  hers  for  the  sake  of  another,  but  she  would  not 
be   swerved    from   her   own  conviction    one   hair's 
breadth.     Characteristic  of  this  unswerving  purpose 
was  her  determination  as  a  child  to  learn  her  home 
lessons  in  the   family  sitting-room,   where  all  the 
older  members  gathered  after  dinner  to  chat.     She 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  go  into  a  quiet  room  apart. 
She  liked  company,  and  she  liked  even  then  to  prove 
to  herself  that  she  could  so  concentrate  her  attention 
as  not  to  hear  what  was  going  on  around  her.    Per- 
haps to  this  self-planned  discipline  of  mind  may  be 
due  much  of  her  later  power  to  accomplish  work  at 
all  times  and  in  all  surroundings.     After  completing 
her  preparation  at  the  Dwight  School  in  Englewood, 
Alice  entered  Smith  College  in  the  fall  of  1894. 


6o  Servants  of  the  King 

There  she  was  given  the  nickname  of  Ajax.  One 
of  her  classmates  wrote  in  the  Smith  College  Monthly 
for  January,  1907,  of  what  AUce  was  and  did  in 
college : 

"Unusually  versatile,  Alice  Jackson  entered  into 
almost  every  phase  of  our  college  life,  and  whatever 
she  touched  became  beautiful  in  her  doing  of  it. 
Whether  in  work  or  in  play,  she  reached  out  always 
for  the  underlying  ideal,  unconscious  of  herself  save 
as  an  instrument  of  service.  A  member  of  the  bas- 
ket-ball team,  she  played  a  wonderful  game,  swiftly, 
quietly,  efficiently,  and  fairly,  always  in  the  helpful 
place,  never  grasping  an  opportunity  for  individual 
glory  at  the  expense  of  the  team  work.  She  grasped 
the  ethics  of  the  game  and  never  even  knew  there 
w-as  a  selfish  side.  At  the  close  of  our  official  sopho- 
more game,  as  we,  crushed,  tragic  children,  were 
trying  to  grip  the  fact  bravely  that  for  the  first  time 
in  our  college  history  the  game  had  gone  officially  to 
the  freshmen,  it  was  our  Ajax  who  found  for  us  the 
key  to  the  situation,  'It's  Une  for  the  freshmen.' 

"So  in  the  college  honors  which,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  came  to  her  lot,  in  Alpha,  Biological  Society, 
Colloquium,  editor  of  the  Monthly,  and  as  a  member 
of  other  organizations,  religious,  social,  and  intellec- 
tual, she  regarded  her  election  not  as  a  cause  for  self- 
congratulation,  not  as  a  tribute  to  her  own  abilities, 
but  simply  as  an  opportunity  for  further  usefulness. 


Alice  Jackson  6i 

It  was  in  this  spirit  that  she  entered  into  the  Shake- 
speare prize  essay  contest,  not  with  the  desire  of  win- 
ning the  prize  for  lierself,  but  in  order  to  fill  out  the 
necessary  number  of  competitors.  When  word  came 
to  her  that  the  prize  had  been  awarded  to  her  essay, 
she  received  the  news  with  a  burst  of  grief  and  dis- 
appointment. 'I  thought  C.  would  get  the  prize! 
She  worked  so  hard.'  " 

Perhaps  she  grasped  the  class  spirit  so  quickly  be- 
cause she  was  one  of  a  large  family  of  children  who 
had  always  "done  things  together."  Her  idea  of 
work  had  always  been  "team  work,"  and  a  little 
home  incident  illustrates  this.  An  elder  sister  was 
to  be  married,  and  the  children,  wishing  to  make  the 
wedding  gift  their  very  own,  planned  to  pick  black- 
berries, sell  them  to  their  mother,  and  buy  the  pres- 
ent with  their  earnings.  When  the  contents  of  the 
baskets  were  measured,  Alice's  proved  to  hold  twice 
as  much  as  either  of  the  others,  and  so  four  teacups 
were  bought  instead  of  three;  but  the  four,  she  in- 
sisted, should  be  given  "from  us  all  three  together." 

The  Christian  life,  which  had  always  been  the 
dominant  thing  in  her,  came  to  full  development  in 
college.  And  as  college  closed,  the  thoughts  of  child- 
hood ripened  to  large  missionary  purposes.  In  a 
letter  written  three  years  later  she  described  the 
growth  of  her  Christian  experience  and  desire  for 
Christian  service: 


62  Servants  of  the  King 

"I  do  not  think  that  my  Christian  experience  has 
differed  very  much  from  that  of  most  children  of 
God-fearing  parents.  My  father  and  mother  loved 
God  and  trusted  absolutely  in  him,  and  I  grew  up 
to  love  him,  too,  and  to  see,  at  first  through  them 
and  then  for  myself,  how  he  is  indeed  the  lov- 
ing, heavenly  Father,  who  is  always  ready  to  help 
and  strengthen  his  children,  to  bring  comfort  in 
sorrow,  strength  in  the  time  of  trial,  to  give  power 
to  overcome  all  temptations,  and  to  sanctify  and 
purify  and  beautify  all  life. 

"During  my  senior  year  at  college  I  was  asked 
to  serve  as  the  chairman  of  our  class  prayer-meet- 
ing committee,  and  I  think  that  at  that  time,  in  plan- 
ning the  work  and  in  prayer  for  a  deeper  spiritual 
life  in  the  college,  I  came  closer  to  God  than  ever 
before.  It  seems  strange  that  just  after  graduating 
from  college,  doubts  as  to  whether  there  really  was 
a  God  should  arise.  It  seemed  for  the  moment  that 
the  whole  story  of  the  Christ  and  of  the  Father 
might  be  a  most  beautiful  legend,  and  one  which  I 
longed  to  believe,  but  had  no  right  to  do  so  unless 
I  really  knew  it  to  be  true.  I  determined  to  pray  to 
God  just  the  same,  trusting  that  if  there  really  was  a 
God  he  would  answer  my  prayer  and  give  me  a 
clearer  vision  of  himself,  and  soon  the  doubts  and 
troubles  cleared  away. 

"Since  that  time  Christ  has  seemed  nearer  and 


Alfce  Jackson  63 

more  real  than  ever  before,  and  I  know  and  feel  that 
he  is  indeed  the  truest  and  dearest  of  friends,  who  is 
ahvays  near  and  ready  to  help  and  to  sympathize.  I 
think  that  I  long  now  with  an  ever-deepening  desire 
to  do  God's  will  and  to  live  as  Christ  did,  a  life  of 
loving,  unselfish  service. 

"Ever  since  a  small  child  I  have  always  longed  to 
go  and  live  among  the  poor  and  unhappy.  At  first 
not  from  any  idea  of  doing  missionary  work,  but 
simply  because  my  own  life  had  had  so  much  happi- 
ness in  it  that  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  any  one 
else  being  unhappy.  I  wanted  to  share  my  joy  with 
them. 

"I  always  had  a  great  admiration  for  missionaries, 
but  their  lives  seemed  to  me  to  be  so  set  apart,  so 
far  above  my  life  or  anything  that  I  could  ever  be- 
come, that  I  never  thought  that  I  myself  might  one 
day  be  a  missionary.  It  was  not  until  the  summer 
of  1898,  when  I  was  asked  if  I  was  not  willing  to 
go  abroad  as  a  missionary,  that  the  possibility  of 
really  being  able  to  do  so  came  to  me  with  any  force. 
At  Northfield,  that  same  summer,  I  was  taught  that 
God  can  use  our  lives,  and,  working  through  us,  can 
teach  us  how  to  bring  others  into  his  kingdom.  Since 
that  time  I  have  longed  to  be  a  missionary,  that  I 
may  not  only  share  the  joy  that  has  come  into  my 
life  with  others,  but  that  I  may  tell  them  of  the  love 


64  Servants  of  the  King 

of  God,  believing  that  through  him  they  may  be 
brought  into  lives  of  happiness  and  usefulness." 

But  before  she  offered  herself  for  missionary  ser- 
vice, she  turned- to  the  opportunities  and  responsibili- 
ties near  at  hand  which  called  to  her,  and  which  of- 
fered the  best  preparation  for  the  work  to  which  she 
looked  forward.  And,  as  it  turned  out,  she  never 
went  abroad  and  her  life-work  was  as  a  missionary 
at  home.  She  took  up  work  in  the  New  York  School 
of  Pedagogy,  teaching  at  the  same  time,  first  in 
Brooklyn  and  then  in  Miss  Audubon's  school  in 
New  York,  and  working  as  a  volunteer  worker  in 
the  Christodora  House.  The  following  two  years, 
1 899- 1 90 1,  she  was  secretary  of  the  Girls'  Club  at 
Greenfield,  Mass.  It  was  at  this  time  that  she  of- 
fered herself  for  work  in  China. 

"About  China,"  she  wrote,  "I  do  long  to  go  there 
more  deeply  than  to  any  other  place,  and  especially 
in  the  interior  or  to  northern  China.  Mother  wrote  me 
the  other  day  that  I  could  not  go  to  China  next  year. 
I  think  that  the  only  reason  is  the  danger,  and  I  feel 
that  when  I  can  talk  to  her  myself  about  it  she  may 
be  willing  to  let  me  go  in  the  autumn.  At  the  same 
time,  though  my  greatest  desire  is  centered  in  China, 
I  want  to  go  wherever  my  life  is  going  to  be  the  most 
useful,  and  I  don't  want  to  let  any  personal  desires 
come  in.  So,  if  it  is  really  not  best  for  me  to  go 
there,  it  will  be  a  great  joy  to  go  to  some  other  coun- 


Alice  Jackson  65 

try.  I  really  do  want  to  go  or  to  stay,  whichever  is 
best,  only  I  cannot  help  hoping  that  I  may  be  fitted 
for  a  life  abroad.  As  I  have  written  you,  I  long  to 
go  as  soon  as  possible  (if  I  shall  prove  to  be  fitted  for 
such  work),  but  I  do  want  to  have  the  best  prepara- 
tion and  so  be  really  useful." 

The  mission  board's  medical  adviser  declined  to 
approve  Alice's  appointment,  and  informed  the 
board  and  told  her  that  probably  she  could  never  go 
to  the  mission  field.  He  discovered  that  she  was  suf- 
fering from  an  ailment  (diabetes)  from  which  she 
could  not  hope  to  recover.  She  refused  to  be  daunted, 
however,  and,  though  she  left  the  Girls'  Club  at 
Greenfield,  went  steadfastly  on  in  her  work  at  home, 
at  the  same  time  that  she  sought  to  carry  out  faith- 
fully all  the  advice  of  the  physician,  whom,  as  with  all 
whom  she  ever  met,  she  made  her  fast  friend.  Noth- 
ing could  disturb  her  serene  and  joyful  confidence 
that  if  it  was  God's  will  she  would  get  to  China. 

The  summer  of  1901  she  spent  at  the  Christodora 
House  in  New  York  City,  a  Christian  social  settle- 
ment on  Avenue  B,  near  Tenth  Street.  She  had 
worked  there  before,  and  always  went  back  when 
she  could.  She  founded  the  Mothers'  Club,  begin- 
ning by  asking  the  mothers  of  some  of  the  children  in 
the  clubs  to  come  and  drink  coffee  and  sing  German 
songs  once  a  week  at  the  House.  The  club  from  its 
beginning  of  six  German  women,  who  met  to  talk 


66  Servants  of  the  King 

over  their  children  and  to  sew,  is  now  going  on  with 
a  membership  of  thirty.  She  had  clubs  for  girls,  the 
"Loyalty"  and  the  "Steadfast,"  and  also  a  club  for 
boys,  which  bore  the  name  of  "The  Young  Patriots' 
Club."  She  regularly  taught  the  boys  politeness,  and 
greatly  enjoyed  the  fact  that  the  secretary  of  her 
"Young  Patriots'  Club"  solemnly  announced  to  an 
assembled  audience  at  Cooper  Union  that  the  boys 
had  spent  the  year  in  the  study  of  "history,  manners, 
and  other  relics."  She  wrote  a  little  song  for  the 
children  which  became  a  great  favorite : 

A   PRAYER 

Father,  hear  thy  little  children 

As  to  thee  we  pray, 
Asking  for  thy  loving  blessing 

On  this  day. 

Father,  make  us  pure  and  holy; 

Father,  make  us  good. 
Show  us  how  to  love  each  other 

As  we  should. 

Through  the  day,  O  loving  Savior, 

May  we  grow  like  thee. 
In  the  beauty  all  about  us 

Thy  reflection  see. 

When  at  length  the  evening  cometh 

And  we  fall  asleep. 
In  thy  arms  of  love,  thy  children 

Safely  keep. 

Father,  hear  thy  little  children 

While  to  thee  we  pray. 
Asking  for  thy  loving  guidance 

All  this  day. 


Alice  Jackson  67 

The  little  children  still  sing  the  song  every  Sun- 
day afternoon. 

In  the  fall  of  1902  Alice  went  back  to  Northamp- 
ton, Massachusetts,  to  become  secretary  of  the  Smith 
College  Association  for  Christian  Work,  and  re- 
mained till  the  summer  of  1904.  No  years  could 
be  filled  more  full  of  rich  and  loving  service  than 
Alice  Jackson  filled  these  two  years  at  Smith.  What 
she  had  regarded  as  her  limitations  in  childhood — 
her  sensitiveness  and  her  reserve — had  developed 
into  the  very  sources  of  her  power.  She  was  able 
to  win  every  one,  and  there  was  no  one  whom  she 
was  not  seeking  to  help  and  no  work  which  she  was 
not  eager  to  do. 

No  girls  were  left  out  of  Alice's  thought  and  plan- 
ning, and  she  sought  especially,  and  with  the  most 
tactful  sympathy,  to  help  the  Roman  Catholic 
girls.  In  this  she  had  the  cordial  help  of  Father 
Gallen  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Florence,  a  village 
near  Northampton.  Father  Gallen  has  kindly  writ- 
ten, with  warm  Christian  sympathy,  of  his  impres- 
sions of  her  and  his  estimate  of  her  work  : 

"From  my  knowledge  of  the  splendid  results  that 
followed  years  of  self-sacrificing  labor  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  Christian  workers  of  Smith  College 
found  the  leader  they  needed  so  much  in  the  person 
of  Miss  Alice  Jackson.  She  enabled  them  to  direct 
their  best  energies  with  good  results  in  a  spiritual 


68  Servants  of  the  King 

way  to  themselves  and  others.  All  the  churches  ben- 
efited by  her  work,  and  especially  my  own.  She  sent 
me  teachers  for  the  Sunday-school — faithful,  self- 
denying  college  girls.  The  distance  from  the  col- 
lege to  my  church  is  two  miles,  and  some  of  these 
girls,  because  of  our  early  services  on  Sunday,  were 
forced  to  leave  their  houses  before  the  breakfast  hour 
and  to  fast  until  noon. 

*'I  have  always  felt  that  Alice  Jackson  had  splen- 
did natural  powers  for  Christian  work.  She  was 
most  gentle,  yet  persistent,  in  pursuing  her  object. 
In  voice  and  manner  there  was  a  sympathetic  quality 
so  winning  as  to  be  irresistible.  There  seemed  to  be 
a  perfect  consonance  between  her  charming  person- 
ality and  the  beautiful  teachings  of  the  Master  she 
served  and  loved  so  well.  However,  I  like  to  think 
that  her  great  success  in  her  life-work  was  due  to 
the  grace  supernatural  bestowed  by  a  loving  Father 
in  the  light  of  whose  presence  I  trust  she  may  ever 
dwell." 

In  the  fall  of  1904  Alice  went  to  Ludlow,  Massa- 
chusetts, as  secretary  of  the  Welfare  Work  of  the 
Manufacturing  Associates.  The  factories  made 
coarse  textiles  and  employed  2,000  people,  mostly 
unskilled  foreign  labor  and  largely  women  and  chil- 
dren. The  company  had  built  and  owned  most  of 
the  village,  streets,  also  the  water  and  electric  light 
service.     They  had  some  300  houses,  mostly  single 


Alice  Jackson  69 

cottages  with  small  grounds  about  them.  The  town 
authorities  manage  the  schools,  which  contained  over 
600  children;  but  no  instruction  was  given  in  cook- 
ing or  sewing.  During  the  year  1904-5  Alice  took 
charge  of  the  work  for  the  women  and  children. 

All  the  while  she  was  fighting  her  battle  for 
health,  and  even  for  life,  but  with  a  smile  so  cheerful 
and  an  enthusiasm  for  others'  interests  so  genuine 
that  no  one  but  her  doctor  and  a  few  of  her  closest 
friends  knew  of  the  struggle  that  was  going  on. 

In  the  fall  of  1905  she  returned  to  New  York  to 
be  under  the  doctor's  closer  care,  but  all  the  while  to 
be  busily  at  work  as  industrial  secretary  for  the  New 
York  City  Young  Women's  Christian  Association. 
The  work  was  among  the  girls  in  the  factories  in 
New  York  City  and  was  carried  on  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  little  committee,  but  Alice  was  left  free 
to  develop  the  work  in  accordance  with  her  own 
ideas,  the  aim  being  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
girls,  but  more  especially  to  improve  the  girls  them- 
selves by  winning  them  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
During  the  year  she  taught  on  Sundays  a  class  in 
Sunday-school,  and,  of  course,  kept  in  close  touch 
with  the  work  at  Christodora  House.  She  had 
assisted  Miss  Grace  H.  Dodge  in  the  summer 
work  of  the  vacation  circles  and  so  had  gained  an 
additional  opportunity  for  meeting  self-supporting 
women.    "She  once  remarked  to  me,"  writes  one  of 


70  Servants  of  the  King 

her  sisters,  "that  there  was  only  one  shop  in  New 
York  in  which  she  did  not  know  some  of  the  sales- 
women, and  on  going  there  was  immediately  ad- 
dressed as  a  friend  by  one  of  them." 

The  summer  of  1906  Alice  spent  in  good  part  at 
home  in  Englewood,  where  she  found  special  ways 
of  giving  loving  help  to  friends  in  need.  And  in  the 
autumn  she  went,  with  the  doctor's  consent,  to 
Wellesley,  Massachusetts,  to  teach  the  Bible  and  to 
work  among  the  girls  in  Miss  Cooke's  School,  Dana 
Hall. 

In  December  what  the  doctor  had  long  appre- 
hended came.  The  disease  which  she  had  coura- 
geously fought,  to  which  she  had  never  for  one  mo- 
ment surrendered,  closed  in  inexorably.  Her  one 
thought,  as  always,  was  of  others.  "Don't  let  mother 
know  I  have  any  pain,"  was  her  entreaty.  "Don't 
let  mother  be  sad."  Her  suffering  was  not  for  many 
days,  and  on  December  13  she  entered  into  the  great 
light  for  which  she  had  longed  and  saw  in  his 
beauty  the  King  she  had  ever  loved  and  served. 

So  she  passed  on,  leaving  behind  her  a  trail  of 
glorious  service.  The  Wednesday  after  her  death 
would  have  been  her  birthday.  It  was  her  birthday, 
only  not  here,  but  in  a  far  fairer  country.  There, 
beyond  all  the  pain  and  limitation  against  which  she 
strove  bravely,  she  began  the  blessed  service  of  eter- 
nity, fitted  for  it  by  the  purity  and  unselfishness  of 


Alice  Jackson  71 

the  life  which  Christ  had  lived  in  her  and  which 
she  had  described  in  verses  which  she  wrote  about 
another  for  one  Christmas  Day : 


"Her  life  was  one  of  sweet  simplicity. 

Forgetting  self,  unconsciously  each  day, 
She  taught  the  lesson  of  that  sweet  denial. 

The  joy  of  those  who  on  the  altar  lay 
Their  lives — to  take  them  up  again  for  others, 

Who  to  the  world  deep  joy  and  gladness  bring. 
Fulfilling  by  their  daily  lives  the  message 

Which  on  the  Christmas  morn  the  angels  sing." 


GUIDO  FRIDOLIN  VERBECK 


,U 


I  prefer  to  work  on  quietly  and  at  peace  with  all.    .    . 
The  name  is  nothing,  the  real  results  are  all. 

— Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck 


74 


-^l^^t^'/^   ^,^^a^e^L/^(^^^. 


V 

GUIDO  FRIDOLIN  VERBECK 

ON  the  23d  of  January,  1830,  at  Zeist,  Holland, 
a  little  Dutch  baby-boy  was  born.  His  full 
name  was  Guido  Herman  Fridolin  Verbeck.  Sixty- 
eight  years  later  the  little  Dutch  boy,  grown  to  be 
a  man,  died  in  Tokyo,  Japan.  When  he  died  he 
was  not  a  Dutchman,  and  he  was  not  a  Japanese. 
Indeed,  he  was  a  man  without  any  country  of  his 
own.  Yet  he  was  a  Dutchman  and  a  Japanese.  And 
he  was  also  an  American.  So  he  had  three  coun- 
tries at  the  same  time  that  he  had  none.  How 
could  such  a  thing  be? 

He  was  a  Dutchman  because  he  was  born  in 
Holland  and  grew  up  as  a  boy  in  his  father's  com- 
fortable home  near  Zeist.  "We  lived,"  he  said, 
"as  Jacob  did,  in  the  free  temple  of  nature,  enjoy- 
ing the  garden,  the  fruit,  the  flowers,  with  joy,  on 
green  benches  between  green  hedges.  And  after 
sunset,  when  the  stars  were  sparkling,  then  we 
brothers  and  sisters  went  lovingly  arm  in  arm  and 
passed  our  time  in  garden,  wood,  or  quiet  arbor, 

75 


76  Servants  of  the  King 

enjoying  each  other's  happiness  and  God's  peace. 
The  winter  days  we  spent  mostly  on  the  ice,  but 
toward  evening  in  the  cozy  twihght  we  gathered 
around  the  warm  stove,  to  enjoy  with  all  our  heart 
our    happiness.     Then    father    told    us    many    a 
story,  and  we  sang  many  good  and  favorite  songs; 
after  lamps  were  lit  we  all  engaged  in  reading,  ate 
apples,  nuts,  and  pears."     He  had  colts  and  rabbits 
and  poultry  and  peacocks  for  pets,  and  a  boat  for 
the  canals  which  ran  through  the   place  and  the 
country  round  about,  into  one  of  which  he  fell  at 
the  age  of  two  years  and  was  nearly  drowned.     He 
was   confirmed    with   a    brother    in    the    Moravian 
church  at  Zeist  and  went  to  school  in  the  Moravian 
Institute,  where  he  learned  Dutch  and  French  and 
German,  to  which  he  added  English  at  home.     He 
and  his  sister  took  pains  to  teach  themselves  a  good 
English  accent.     They  taught  their  tongues  to  say 
"th"  by  repeating  "Theophilus  Thistle  thrust  three 
thousand  thistles  into  the  thick  of  his  thumb."     So 
he  learned  to  speak  English  as  well  as  any  English- 
man.    After  graduating  from  the  Institute  at  Zeist 
he  entered  the  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Utrecht  and 
became  an  engineer.     For  twenty-two  years  the  old 
Dutch  house  at  Zeist  was  his  home  and  then  he  left 
Holland. 

Next  he  became  an  American.     In  1852  he  came 
to  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  where  a  sister  and  her 


Guldo  Fridolin  Vcrbcck  77 

husband  were  living,  intending  to  work  in  a  foundry 
which  a  friend  of  his  brother-in-law  was  establish- 
ing there  for  the  manufacture  of  machinery  for 
steamboats.  On  his  way  he  was  nearly  wrecked  on 
Lake  Erie.  He  reached  Green  Bay  after  a  rough 
journey,  the  last  part  of  it  by  wagon  and  sleigh 
over  terrible  roads,  only  to  find  that  the  opportunity 
was  disappointing.  "I  must  see  more  of  America," 
he  said,  "and  be  where  I  can  improve  myself.  I  am 
determined  to  be  a  good  Yankee."  He  found  em- 
ployment at  Helena,  Arkansas,  where  he  was  soon 
busy  planning  bridges  and  engineering  improve- 
ments, but  the  climate  was  unfavorable  and  he  fell 
ill  of  fever  and  was  wasted  to  a  skeleton.  His  sick- 
ness was  a  turning-point  with  him.  He  promised 
God  that  if  he  recovered  he  would  consecrate  his 
life  to  service  in  the  missionary  field.  As  soon  as 
he  could  walk  again  he  returned  to  Green  Bay  and 
took  charge  of  the  factory  there.  But  the  purpose  of 
Christian  service  had  been  firmly  fixed,  and  en- 
couraged and  aided  by  a  New  York  City  business 
man  he  went  to  Auburn,  New  York,  to  the  theologi- 
cal seminary  in  1856.  Just  as  he  finished  his  course 
the  call  came  to  the  seminary  for  an  "Americanized 
Dutchman"  for  Japan.  Commodore  Perry  had  opened 
the  long-sealed  land  in  1853-4.  The  first  generous 
treaty  had  been  negotiated  in  1858.     The  Japanese 


7^  Servants  of  the  King 

had  long  been  friendly  to  Hollanders,  and  were  now 
well-disposed  to  Americans,  and  Guido  Verbeck  had 
clearly  been  prepared  for  this  very  hour.  He  was 
all  ready  to  go,  and  the  Dutch  lad,  who  had  become 
an  American,  started  in  1859  ^^  a  missionary  to 
Japan. 

He  reached  Nagasaki  on  November  4,  1859,  His 
vessel  steamed  into  the  bay  by  moonlight.  "With 
the  first  dawning  of  the  day,"  he  wrote,  "I  cannot 
describe  the  beauty  that  is  before  me.  I  have  never 
seen  anything  like  it  before  in  Europe  or  America. 
Suppose  yourself  to  be  on  the  deck  of  a  steamer  with- 
in a  port  as  smooth  as  a  mirror,  about  sixteen  neat 
vessels  scattered  about  here  and  there,  before  you 
that  far-famed  Deshima,  and  around  it  and  beyond 
an  extensive  city  with  many  white-roofed  and  walled 
houses,  and  again  all  around  this  city  lofty  hills 
covered  with  evergreen  foliage  of  great  variety,  and 
in  many  places  spotted  by  temples  and  houses.  Let 
the  morning  sun  shine  on  this  scene,  and  the  morn- 
ing dews  gradually  withdraw  like  a  curtain  and  hide 
themselves  in  the  more  elevated  ravines  of  the  sur- 
rounding mountains,  and  you  have  a  very  faint  pic- 
ture of  what  I  saw."  When  he  landed  the  notice- 
boards  prohibiting  the  Christian  religion  were  scat- 
tered all  over  the  country  in  city  and  village  and  by 
the  roadside.    This  is  what  was  inscribed  on  them : 


Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck  79 

"The  Christian  religion  has  been  prohibited  for  many  years. 
If  any  one  is  suspected,  a  report  must  be  made  at  once. 

REWARDS 

To  the  informer  of  a  hater  en  (father),  500  pieces  of  silver. 
To  the  informer  of  an  irunian  (brother),  300  pieces  of  silver. 
To  the  informer  of  a  Christian  who  once  recanted,  300  pieces 

of  silver. 
To   the   informer  of  a  Christian  or  catechist,   300  pieces  of 

silver. 
"The  above  rewards  will  be  given.  If  any  one  will  inform 
concerning  his  own  family,  he  will  be  rewarded  with  500 
pieces  of  silver,  or  according  to  the  information  which  he 
furnishes.  If  any  one  conceals  an  offender,  and  the  fact  is 
detected,  then  the  head  man  of  the  village  in  which  the  con- 
cealer lives,  and  the  'five-men  company'  to  which  he  belongs, 
and  his  family  and  relatives  will  all  be  punished  together." 

Natives  who  associated  with  missionaries  were 
looked  upon  with  suspicion. 

"We  found  the  nation  not  at  all  accessible  touch- 
ing religious  matters,"  wrote  Dr.  Verbeck  long  years 
afterward  in  speaking  of  these  early  days.  "Where 
such  a  subject  was  mooted  in  the  presence  of  the 
Japanese,  his  hand  would  almost  involuntarily  be 
applied  to  his  throat,  to  indicate  the  extreme  perilous- 
ness  of  such  a  topic." 

Still  God  had  been  preparing  some  to  hear  and 
accept  the  gospel.  Before  the  policy  of  exclusion 
had  been  abandoned,  and  while  a  British  fleet  was 
in  Japanese  waters,  the  duty  of  guarding  the  coast 
at  Nagasaki  had  been  assigned  to  the  daimio  or 
baron  of  Hizen,  and  he  delegated  one  of  his  min- 
isters, a  house  officer  named  Murata,  whose  title  was 


8o  Servants  of  the  King 

Wakasa  no  Kami,  to  look  after  it.  He  was  to  keep 
the  foreigners  from  the  fleet  out  of  Japan,  and  also  to 
prevent  Japanese  from  leaving  the  country  to  go 
abroad.  Murata  frequently  went  out  by  night  and 
day  in  a  boat  to  make  sure  of  the  success  of  his  vari- 
ous measures  for  fulfilling  his  duty,  and  on  one  of 
these  trips  found  a  little  book  floating  on  the  water. 
His  curiosity  was  aroused  and  he  became  more  inter- 
ested when  he  found  out  that  it  was  about  the 
Creator  and  the  Christian  religion.  He  sent  a  man  to 
Shanghai  and  secured  a  translation  of  the  book  in 
Chinese  and  took  it  home  with  him  to  Saga.  He 
was  studying  this  book  when  Dr.  Verbeck  came  to 
Nagasaki,  and  hearing  of  the  missionary  he  sent  his 
younger  brother  to  get  more  information  from  him. 
In  1866  he  and  his  brother  and  his  two  sons  and  a 
train  of  followers  came  to  see  Verbeck.  "Sir,"  said 
he,  "I  cannot  tell  you  my  feelings  when,  for  the  first 
time,  I  read  the  account  of  the  character  and  work 
of  Jesus  Christ.  I  had  never  seen,  nor  heard,  nor 
imagined  such  a  person.  I  was  filled  with  admira- 
tion, overwhelmed  with  emotion,  and  taken  captive 
by  the  record  of  his  nature  and  life."  The  conversa- 
tion lasted  for  hours,  and  then,  though  the  men 
knew  they  were  facing  death  in  doing  it,  they  asked 
and  received  baptism,  and  twelve  years  after  finding 
the  book  in  the  water  went  home  as  Christian  be- 
lievers, the  first  converts  of  the  young  missionary. 


Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck  8i 

Already,  however,  great  changes  were  passing 
over  Japan.  The  old  political  order  was  over- 
thrown and  a  hunger  for  knowledge  filled  the  land. 
Dr.  Verbeck  was  asked  by  the  government  to  open  a 
school  for  foreign  languages  and  science  in  Naga- 
saki. It  was  soon  filled  with  more  than  one  hundred 
pupils,  among  whom  were  many  future  statesmen  of 
Japan,  including  one  prime  minister  and  the  two 
sons  of  Prince  Iwakura.  From  this  school  he  sent 
out  the  first  of  the  large  company  of  more  than 
five  hundred  young  Japanese  who  came  with  his 
introduction  to  study  in  America. 

In  1868  came  the  great  political  upheaval  with 
the  retirement  of  the  Shogun  and  the  resumption 
of  active  rule  by  the  Mikado,  who  took  an  oath  in 
the  presence  of  the  nobles  to  establish  the  empire 
on  the  following  principles  : 

1.  Government  based  on  public  opinion. 

2.  Social  and  political  economy  to  be  made  the 
study  of  all  classes. 

3.  Mutual  assistance  among  all  for  the  general 
good. 

4.  Reason,  not  tradition,  to  be  the  guide  of  action. 

5.  Wisdom  and  ability  to  be  sought  after  in  all 
quarters  of  the  world. 

In  consequence  of  the  change,  Dr.  Verbeck  was 
called  from  Nagasaki  to  Tokyo  to  establish  a  school 
for  the  government,  and  he  accepted  the  call.    This 


82  Servants  of  the  King 

school  grew  into  the  Imperial  University.  At  the 
same  time,  by  force  of  his  wide  knowledge,  his  up- 
right character,  his  self-obliteration,  and  his  devotion 
to  the  best  interests  of  Japan,  he  became  the  great 
adviser  of  the  men  who  were  controlling  her  destiny. 
"It  impressed  me  mightily,"  says  Dr.  Griffis,  who 
visited  him  at  this  time,  ''to  see  what  a  factotum  Dr. 
Verbeck  was,  a  servant  of  servants  indeed,  for  I 
could  not  help  thinking  how  he  imitated  his  Master. 
I  saw  a  prime  minister  of  the  empire,  heads  of  de- 
partments, and  officers  of  various  ranks,  whose  per- 
sonal and  official  importance  I  sometimes  did,  and 
sometimes  did  not,  realize,  coming  to  find  out  from 
Dr.  Verbeck  matters  of  knowledge  or  to  discuss 
with  him  points  and  courses  of  action.  To-day  it 
might  be  a  plan  of  national  education;  to-morrow, 
the  engagement  of  foreigners  to  important  posi- 
tions; or  the  despatch  of  an  envoy  to  Europe;  the 
choice  of  the  language  best  suited  for  medical  science ; 
or  how  to  act  in  matters  of  neutrality  between 
France  and  Germany,  whose  war  vessels  were  in 
Japanese  waters;  or  to  learn  the  truth  about  what 
some  foreign  diplomat  had  asserted;  or  concern- 
ing the  persecutions  of  Christians;  or  some  serious 
measure  of  home  policy." 

Perhaps  the  two  greatest  services  which  he  ren- 
dered were  the  translation  of  the  Western  law  books, 
law  codes  and  books  on  political  economy  and  in- 


Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck  83 

ternational  law,  and  the  projection  of  the  famous 
Iwakura  embassy.  This  was  a  body  of  the  most  in- 
fluential men  of  the  empire  sent  abroad  to  America 
and  Europe.  In  America  Joseph  Hardy  Neesima, 
then  a  student  here,  was  attached  to  the  embassy  as 
an  interpreter.  Dr.  Verbeck's  share  in  planning  this 
embassy  was  little  known  at  the  time,  and  his  policy 
was  always  to  conceal  his  influence.  He  wrote  of 
this  particular  enterprise,  however,  to  an  old  friend 
in  America.  "All  this,"  he  said,  "I  only  write  to  you, 
and  not  to  the  public;  for,  as  I  said  before,  publish- 
ing such  things  would  be  directly  contrary  to  my 
invariable  principles  of  operation,  would  ruin  my 
reputation,  and  make  me  lose  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  which  it  has  taken  me  twelve  years  to  gain 
in  a  small  degree.  Besides,  there  is  a  tacit  under- 
standing between  Iwakura  and  myself  that  I  shall 
leave  the  outward  honor  of  initiating  this  embassy 
to  themselves.  And  who  cares  for  the  mere  name 
and  honor,  if  they  are  sure  to  reap  the  benefits, 
toleration  and  its  immense  consequences,  partly  now, 
but  surely  after  the  return  of  this  embassy?  More- 
over, there  is  quite  a  band  of  foreign  ministers  and 
consuls  who  look  with  envy  on  me  and  my  doings, 
and  it  would  not  be  right  nor  expedient  wantonly  to 
stir  up  their  ire.  I  prefer  to  work  on  quietly  and 
at  peace  with  all.  Each  man  has  his  sphere  of 
action;  I  like  to  keep  within  mine,  without  intruding 


84  Servants  of  the  King 

myself  on  others.  The  name  is  nothing",  the  real 
results  are  all.  Except  to  an  old  friend  and  a 
brother,  like  you,  I  would  not  have  ventured  to 
write  the  above,  for  fear  of  being  misunderstood." 
This  embassy  accomplished  all  that  Dr.  Verbeck  had 
hoped.  The  nation  moved  forward  more  rapidly 
and  steadily  than  ever,  and,  best  of  all,  the  notice- 
boards  against  Christianity  were  taken  down  and 
the  door  for  missionary  work  began  to  open  widely. 

After  starting  the  new  school  in  Tokyo  Dr.  Ver- 
beck was  for  five  years  attached  to  the  Senate. 
This  was  a  body  formed  as  a  preparatory  step  to 
a  national  constitution  and  parliament,  and  Dr. 
Verbeck  was  adviser  to  it.  By  1877  the  new 
government  was  well-established  and  had  a  num- 
ber of  foreign  advisers,  and  Dr.  Verbeck  decided 
to  withdraw  from  its  service  and  give  all  his  time 
again  to  direct  missionary  work.  This  he  did  in 
1877,  and  to  show  that  Japan  appreciated  what  he 
had  been  to  her,  the  emperor  bestowed  upon  him  on 
his  withdrawal  the  decoration  of  the  third  class  of 
the  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun.  He  later  gave  further 
service  to  the  government,  but  his  remaining  years 
were  spent  directly  in  the  work  of  missions. 

His  great  reputation,  his  favor  with  the  govern- 
ment, his  wonderful  command  of  the  Japanese  lan- 
guage, which  brought  great  crowds  to  hear  him 
speak,  and  his  unselfishness  and  lowliness  of  mind 


DECORATION   OF  THE   ORDER  OF  THE   RISIXG   SUN 


Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck  85 

made  him  one  of  the  great  Christian  forces  of  the 
empire,  and  he  went  far  and  wide,  preaching  in  thea- 
ters and  halls  and  churches.  He  taught  in  one  of 
the  theological  schools  and  aided  in  the  translation 
of  the  Bible. 

All  this  time  he  had  been  a  man  without  a  coun- 
try. Leaving  Holland  as  a  minor  he  had  lost  his 
Dutch  nationality,  and  he  had  not  been  naturalized 
in  the  United  States,  so  that  he  had  no  American 
citizenship.  In  Japan  there  was  no  provision  for 
the  naturalization  of  foreigners,  so  that  he  could  not 
be  a  Japanese.  Yet  Japan  was  his  real  country,  and 
in  1 89 1  he  applied  to  be  made  a  citizen  of  Japan. 
After  explaining  his  situation  to  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  he  wrote:  "If  there  existed  in 
this  empire  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners, 
I  should  under  these  circumstances  gladly  avail  my- 
self of  them.  But  in  the  absence  of  such  laws,  I  take 
the  great  liberty  to  request  of  your  excellency  to  be 
so  very  kind,  if  possible,  to  use  such  means  as  your 
excellency  may  deem  proper  and  suitable  to  have  me 
placed  under  the  protection  of  the  supreme  govern- 
ment of  this  empire.  I  have  but  little  to  recommend 
myself  to  your  excellency's  favor,  unless  I  be  allowed 
to  state,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  perhaps 
not  know  it,  that  I  have  resided  and  labored  in  this 
empire  for  more  than  thirty  years  and  spent  one- 
half  of  this  long  period  in  the  service  of  both  the 


86  Servants  of  the  King 

former  and  the  present  government  of  Japan."  The 
Japanese  Government  granted  him  his  request  and 
took  him  and  his  family  under  its  protection  and 
gave  him  and  them  the  right,  which  no  other  for- 
eigner then  enjoyed,  "to  travel  freely  throughout  the 
empire  in  the  same  manner  as  the  subjects  of  the 
same,  and  to  sojourn  and  reside  in  any  locality."  The 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  in  sending  him  this 
statement,  wrote:  "You  have  resided  in  our  em- 
pire for  several  tens  of  years,  the  ways  in  which  you 
have  exerted  yourself  for  the  benefit  of  our  empire 
are  by  no  means  few,  and  you  have  been  always  be- 
loved and  respected  by  our  officials  and  people." 

Seven  years  later  the  life  so  influential  and  beloved 
came  peacefully  to  an  end  in  his  home  in  Tokyo. 
The  city  government  of  Tokyo  presented  the  family 
with  the  burial  plot  in  which  his  body  was  laid,  and 
the  emperor  himself  paid  the  funeral  expenses,  and 
a  representative  from  the  emperor  came  to  the 
funeral  to  carry  the  decoration  which  had  been 
presented  to  the  missionary  and  which  was  laid  on 
a  cushion  and  placed  on  the  casket  during  the  funeral 
services.  Being  a  decorated  man,  a  company  of 
soldiers  escorted  the  body  two  miles  to  the  cemetery 
and  afterward  saluted  the  grave  with  presentation 
of  arms  and  other  ceremonies  of  honor. 

What  the  nation  thought  was  expressed  by  the 


Guido  Frldolin  Verbeck  87 

Kokumm  no  Tomo  (The  Nation's  Friend),  one  of 
the  Japanese  journals : 

"By  the  death  of  Dr.  Verbeck  the  Japanese  peo- 
ple have  lost  a  benefactor,  teacher,  and  friend.  He 
was  born  in  Holland,  was  educated  in  America,  and 
taught  in  Japan.  The  present  civilization  of  Japan 
owes  much  to  his  services.  Of  the  distinguished 
statesmen  and  scholars  of  the  present,  many  are  those 
who  studied  under  his  guidance.  That  during  his 
forty  years'  residence  in  this  land  he  could  witness 
the  germ,  the  flower,  and  the  fruit  of  his  labor,  must 
have  been  gratifying  to  him.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered by  our  people  that  this  benefactor,  teacher, 
and  friend  of  Japan  prayed  for  the  welfare  of  this 
empire  until  he  breathed  his  last." 

So  the  man  without  a  nation  helped  to  make  a 
nation. 


ELEANOR  CHESNUT 


89 


My  life  is  lived  so  much  among  unlovely  and  unlovable 
people  that  I  have  learned  to  have  great  sympathy  and  great 
love  for  them. 

— Eleanor   Chesnut 


90 


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VI 

ELEANOR  CHESNUT 

On  the  wall  of  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  Presby- 
terian Foreign  Mission  Board,  in  New  York  City,  is 
a  bronze  memorial  tablet  bearing  this  inscription : 

In  Loving  Memory 

of  the 

MISSIONARY   MARTYRS 

of  Lien-chou,  China, 

ELEANOR  CHESNUT,  M.D. 

MRS.  ELLA  WOOD  MACHLE 

AND     HER    LITTLE     DAUGHTER     AMY 

REV.  JOHN  ROGERS  PEALE 

MRS.  REBECCA  GILLESPIE  PEALE 

who,  for  Christ's  sake,  suffered  cruel  death  at 

Lien-chou,  China,  October  28,  1905. 

"They  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death." 

Rev.  xii.  11. 

"They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  heaven 
Through  peril,  toil,  and  pain: 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 
To  follow  in  their  train." 

ELEANOR    CHESNUT,  whose    name    stands 
first  on  the  tablet,    was    born    at    Waterloo, 
Iowa,  on  January  8,  1868.     Her  father  was  Irish, 

91 


92  Servants  of  the  King 

and  her  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Cain,  a 
Manx  woman.  The  father  disappeared  about  the 
time  Eleanor  was  born  and  was  never  heard  of 
again,  and  the  mother,  who  had  the  sympathy  and 
respect  of  the  neighbors,  died  soon  after,  when 
Eleanor  was  three  years  old.  Eleanor  was  adopted, 
but  not  legally,  by  friendly  neighbors  of  scanty 
means,  who  had  no  children  of  their  own  and  found 
the  little  girl  both  a  comfort  and  a  problem.  Her 
adopted  parents  did  for  her  what  they  could,  and 
the  father,  looking  back  across  the  years,  recalls 
"her  loving,  kindly  ways,  her  obedience  in  the  family 
circle,  her  studious  habits,  and  her  unselfish  ways." 
But  from  the  time  she  first  understood  her  situation 
and  loneliness  and  poverty,  the  child  felt  it  keenly 
and  was  filled  with  inward  resentment.  However 
tractable  she  appeared  outwardly,  she  afterward 
said,  she  was  unhappy  and  lonely,  hating  control 
and  longing  for  the  sympathy  of  a  mother's  love. 
Her  great  happiness  lay  in  her  school  life,  but  when 
she  was  twelve  it  seemed  that  she  might  have  to 
give  up  school  altogether.  At  that  time  she  left 
Waterloo  and  went  to  her  aunt's  in  Missouri.  The 
home  was  a  farm  in  an  ignorant  backwoods  country 
community  where  school  privileges  were  of  the  most 
primitive  character,  and  the  struggle  for  life  in  the 
home  was  too  strenuous  to  leave  anything  for  the 
expense  of  education. 


Eleanor  Chesnut  93 

In  her  new  home,  however,  she  heard  in  a  round- 
about way  of  Park  College.  The  knowledge  of  the 
existence  of  such  an  institution,  where  she  might 
work  her  way  to  an  education,  brought  a  gleam  of 
hope  into  her  despair.  In  characteristic  fashion  she 
wrote  directly  to  the  president  of  the  college,  tell- 
ing him  her  longings  and  difficulties,  and  he  wrote 
to  her  to  come  to  Parkville.  She  entered  the 
academy  and  remained  until  she  had  completed  the 
full  college  course,  usually  staying  there  summers 
as  well  as  winters.  Here  she  found  an  entirely  new 
and  congenial  environment.  She  entered  Park  Col- 
lege a  forlorn,  unapproachable  girl  with  many  faults 
of  many  kinds;  she  found  in  Dr.  McAfee  a  true 
friend,  whose  patience  was  inexhaustible  and  whose 
influence  remained  with  her  always.  She  also  found 
many  warm  friends  among  the  students,  her  sur- 
roundings were  congenial,  and  she  became  as  zeal- 
ously honest  as  she  declared  she  had  been  before 
unreliable. 

She  was  not  strong  physically,  and  in  those  early 
days  of  the  college,  teachers  and  students  alike  knew 
the  strain  of  overwork  and  undernourishment.  "I 
do  not  know,"  writes  a  friend,  "how  her  personal 
expenses  were  met.  Her  eldest  brother  was  now  at 
work  and  occasionally  sent  her  a  little  money,  and 
Mrs.  McAfee  had  clothes  given  her  for  needy 
students,  from  which  store    Eleanor    was    largely 


94  Servants  of  the  King 

clothed,  a  charity  which  she  never  could  receive  in 
any  spirit  of  gratitude,  but  which  she  accepted  of 
necessity  and  with  bitter  resentment.  All  these  ex- 
periences made  her  in  after  life  full  of  understand- 
ing, gentleness,  and  tact  for  others  who  were  poor 
and  forlorn  and  proud."  Outwardly  she  bore  her- 
self bravely  and  quietly,  but  her  heart  was  very 
lonely,  and  her  life  had  not  found  yet  the  great  inner 
secret  which  brought  her  later  the  beauty  and  peace 
of  a  consecrated  soul. 

Before  she  left  Park  College  she  had  yielded  to 
the  steady  Christian  influence  of  the  college  and  be- 
come a  member  of  the  Church.  She  had  also  gone 
further  and  decided  to  become  a  missionary.  As 
her  reason  for  the  decision  she  gave  simply  "desire 
to  do  good  in  what  seems  the  most  fitting  sphere." 
She  left  Park  College  in  the  spring  of  1888,  and 
went  to  Chicago  to  study  medicine.  To  one 
who  offered  to  aid  her,  she  wrote :  "I  have  had 
developed  in  me  a  liking  for  medical  study,  al- 
though I  did  not  seriously  think  of  the  matter 
until  of  late.  It  seemed  to  me  such  an  utter 
impossibility  to  carry  out  the  design,  as  I  am  with- 
out means  and  without  friends  to  assist.  But  I  do 
trust  that  I  am  by  divine  appointment  fitted  for  this 
work.  My  age — twenty-one  next  January.  Oh ! 
I  just  do  long  to  do  this  work."  The  strong  power 
of  an  unselfish  purpose  was  beginning  to  work  within 


Eleanor  Chesnut  95 

her.  In  Chicago  she  entered  the  Woman's  Medical 
College.  "During  the  first  year,"  writes  the  friend 
whom  she  came  to  know  about  this  time  and  who 
became  her  one  intimate  friend  and  correspondent, 
"she  lived  in  an  attic,  cooked  her  own  meals,  and 
almost  starved.  At  the  close  of  this  first  year  of 
medical  education,  she  decided  to  take  a  course  in 
nursing  as  well,  and  that  spring  entered  the  Illinois 
Training  School  for  Nurses  in  Chicago  for  the 
course,  which  was  then  two  years.  This  was  a  new 
and  trying  experience.  Eleanor  always  resented 
authority  which  hampered  her  own  methods,  also 
she  was  careless  and  inexact  in  her  ways,  and 
training-school  discipline  was  a  continual  thorn  in 
her  flesh.  She  loved  the  poor  and  suffering  pa- 
tients who  were  under  her  care,  and  was  tender 
and  untiring  in  her  care,  faithful  to  the  last  detail 
where  essentials  were  concerned.  After  leaving  the 
medical  college,  she  spent  a  winter  in  the  Woman's 
Reformatory  in  South  Framingham,  Mass.,  as  as- 
sistant to  the  resident  physician,  a  very  useful  and 
happy  experience,  and  then  took  a  short  course  in 
the  Moody  Bible  Institute." 

In  1893  she  sent  in  her  formal  application  for 
missionary  appointment,  expressing  a  preference  to 
be  sent  to  Siam :  "Am  wiUing  to  be  sent  to  what- 
ever location  may  be  deemed  fittest.  But  being 
asked  if  I  had  a  preference,  my  thoughts  turned  to 


g6  Servants  of  the  King 

Siam.  It  is  a  specially  interesting  field  to  me  since 
I  have  always  had  throughout  the  country  friends 
and  correspondents.  If  their  special  need  and  my 
desire  should  coincide  it  would  be  for  me  a  delightful 
circumstance.  I  do  not,  however,  set  my  heart 
on  any  one  place,  but  rather  pray  that  wherever  it 
may  be  it  will  be  the  appointed  one,  that  what 
powers  I  possess  may  be  used  to  the  best  advantage." 
She  had  prepared  herself  carefully  for  the  work. 
She  had  made  her  own  way  through  college,  medical 
school,  and  nurses'  training-school,  while  she  worked 
as  a  nurse  in  summer  vacations,  having  nursed  Dr. 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  in  his  last  illness.  She  had 
also  taken  hospital  training,  including  a  good  deal 
of  pharmaceutical  work,  and  she  had  sought  to  make 
up  for  what  she  regarded  as  her  shortcomings  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  spiritual  experience 
by  going  to  the  Bible  Institute.  Those  who  knew 
her  believed  that  she  was  well  fitted  for  the  work. 
She  was  appointed  without  hesitation  as  a  medi- 
cal missionary  on  August  7,  1893,  was  assigned  to 
South  China,  and  sailed  in  the  fall  of  1894  on  the 
steamship  Oceanic  from  San  Francisco  for  Hong- 
kong. There  was  quite  a  party  of  missionaries  on 
board.  The  fifth  day  out  she  wrote :  'T  fear  there 
were  very  few  dry  eyes  as  we  caught  the  last  glimpse 
of  her  [the  tug  which  had  accompanied  them  out 
of  the  bay]  and  heard  the  last  strains  of  Auld  Lang 


Eleanor  Chesnut  97 

Syne.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  thus  far  I  have  shed 
no  tears.  It  would  have  been  easy  enough,  but  I 
know  there  will  be  enough  to  weep  over  in  the 
future."  At  the  end  of  the  journey  she  wrote:  "I 
did  hate  to  say  good-by  to  the  Oceanic.  The  officers 
were  all  so  kind  that  I  shall  regard  them  as  old 
friends."  As  soon  as  possible  after  reaching  Canton 
she  went  on  inland  to  her  own  station  at  Sam-kong, 
a  town  at  the  head  of  the  waterways  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  province  of  Kuang-tung  near  the 
border  of  Hu-nan.  The  mission  station  consisted 
at  the  time  of  one  family,  one  self-supporting  single 
woman  and  one  single  man.  There  were  a  girls' 
boarding-school,  three  churches  at  Sam-kong,  Lien- 
chou,  and  Lam-mo,  and  wards  for  the  medical  care 
of  women  and  men,  though  these  were  very  inade- 
quate. Dr.  Chesnut  began  at  once  upon  arrival  the 
study  of  Northern  Mandarin.  Later  she  tried  to 
acquire  also  some  use  of  local  dialects,  almost  in- 
dispensable for  reaching  women  who  know  nothing 
but  their  own  village  dialect. 

She  began  her  work  in  her  own  way,  drawing  on 
the  inner  resources,  and  not  making  herself  a  de- 
pendent upon  others.  "Every  morning,"  she  wrote 
to  her  friend  at  home,  "I  have  a  choice  little  time 
all  to  my  lonesome.  First  I  read  the  new  quotation 
on  the  calendar,  then  the  thought  for  the  day  in 
'Daily  Strength  for  Daily  Needs'  and  finally  play 


98  Servants  of  the  King 

and  sing  a  hymn.  I  enjoy  my  faltering  attempts 
at  piusic  very  much.  I  can  speak  the  language  of 
my  soul  quite  as  effectively  in  a  simple  melody  as 
some  one  else  might  in  a  grand  sonata.  The 
Thwings  have  two  baby  organs  and  so  have  loaned 
me  one  to  have  in  my  room.  It  is  a  good  com- 
panion. Whenever  I  get  restless  over  Chinese 
hieroglyphics  or  a  trifle  dull  I  play  one  of  the  few 
only  tunes  I  know.  Thus  far,  I  am  thankful  to  say, 
I  have  been  visited  but  little  by  the  dread  demon  of 
homesickness.  There  was  a  time  of  all-goneness 
which  lasted  a  week  or  two  and  helped  to  reduce  my 
avoirdupois.  But,  thank  fortune,  it  is  past.  I  pray 
that  it  may  not  return." 

A  little  hospital  for  women  was  prepared.  Of 
this  she  wrote :  "The  little  hospital  is  nearly 
finished.  1  look  out  upon  it  with  admiring  eyes 
and  fancy  myself  within  it  administering  'yarbs' 
and  'essences'  at  a  great  rate.  I  have  at  present 
a  young  girl  in  my  charge  sick  with  a  low  fever. 
How  I  should  like  to  remove  her  from  her  dark 
room  to  the  hospital  and  look  after  her  myself. 
Am  afraid  she  will  not  recover,  though  I  do  hope 
for  her  sake  and  for  the  work's  sake  she  will. 
Every  patient  that  I  lose  counts  so  much  against 
the  work  here.  I  really  do  labor  at  a  disadvan- 
tage. Being  able  to  talk  so  little,  I  do  not  get  as 
clear    a    history    as    I    might    at    home.     Another 


Eleanor  Chesnut  99 

obstacle  is  the  scarcity  of  drugs.  When  I  want  one 
it  never  seems  to  be  in  the  dispensary ;  and  when  it 
is,  sometimes  I  can't  find  it  because  many  of  the 
bottles  are  labeled  in  Chinese.  The  horrid  tin  cans 
instead  of  bottles!  Oh!  lots  of  things  one  never 
would  dream  of.  But  I  don't  care  for  any  of  these 
trifles  if  only  I  am  well  and  make  a  success  of  what 
I  have  begun." 

She  had  reached  China  about  the  time  of  the  anti- 
foreign  disturbances  in  the  Yang-tzu  Valley  foment- 
ed by  Chou-han  and  his  propaganda  in  Hu-nan. 
She  refers  to  these  conditions  in  one  of  her  letters : 
"The  missionaries  here  are  all  well  and  the  city  is 
peaceful.  The  interior  seems  pretty  well  disturbed. 
I  do  hope  you  won't  be  frightened  by  newspaper 
accounts.  I  don't  think  we  are  in  any  danger,  and 
if  we  are,  we  might  as  well  die  suddenly  in  God's 
work  as  by  some  long-drawn-out  illness  at  home. 
Miss  Johnston  writes  that  the  Sam-kongites  are 
usually  friendly.  I  think  there  is  still  much  hope 
for  China  in  spite  of  such  expressions  as  'an  un- 
claimable  lot  of  heathen  savages.'  But  I  am  sure 
that  it  is  our  duty  as  a  Christian  nation  to  enlighten 
the  Chinese,  and  I  think  very  few  persons  at  home 
realize  what  idolatry  is — how  full  of  cruel  super- 
stition Chma  is.  They  spend  their  whole  existence 
in  fear  of  some  devil  or  other,  and  die  with  it  still 
upon  them.     I  feel  especially  sorry  for  the  women. 


100  Servants  of  the  King 

The  majority  don't  know  anything  aside  from  comb- 
ing their  hair,  doing  a  few  household  duties,  bearing 
children,  and  afterward  hanging  them  upon  their 
backs  till  they  are  five  or  six  years  of  age.  They  are 
not  expected  to  be  intelligent,  and  do  not  expect  it 
themselves.  Their  lives  seem  so  barren — their  tasks 
no  higher  than  those  of  a  beast  of  burden — vexed 
with  human  passions  and  endowed  with  no  power  to 
control  them." 

Within  a  year  after  reaching  Sam-kong,  Dr.  Ches- 
nut  had  an  opportunity  to  go  down  on  a  visit  to 
Canton,  and  while  there  she  studied  the  extensive 
medical  work  of  the  mission  hospital  and  also  seized 
every  chance  of  rendering  service  to  those  in  need. 

In  the  spring  of  1898  Dr.  Chesnut  removed  to 
Lien-chou,  a  more  favorable  location  than  Sam-kong, 
the  station  having  purchased  a  good  site  on  the 
river  bank  opposite  the  city,  "Here  I  am  at  last," 
she  wrote,  "in  the  much-looked-forward-to  Lien- 
chou.  Monday  I  had  a  few  of  the  most  important 
things  carried  overland.  I  hear  that  the  boats  are 
on  their  way.  They  have  divided  their  cargo  with 
several  others  and  are  floating  the  hospital  bed 
boards  and  my  springs.  Won't  they  be  rusty!  I 
only  hope  they  won't  try  to  float  the  books  and  the 
organ.  I  don't  mind  being  here  alone  at  all."  She 
was  living  alone  at  this  time  at  Lien-chou,  the  five 
other  members  of  the  station  still  residing  at  Sam- 


Eleanor  Chesnut  loi 

kong.  She  was  in  the  men's  hospital,  the  women's 
hospital  having  not  yet  been  built.  In  the  absence 
of  Dr.  Machle,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  men's 
hospital,  she  was  conducting  all  the  work.  In  her 
letter  she  writes : 

"How  many  people  do  you  suppose  are  tempo- 
rarily in  my  charge?  Two  day-school  teachers,  the 
hospital  preacher,  janitor,  scribe,  doctor,  watchman, 
woman  who  helps  in  Sam-kong  dispensary,  the 
woman  who  helps  in  this  dispensary,  and  the  Bible- 
woman.  I  have  to  be  after  some  one  continually, 
but  I  do  hate  to  get  after  people.  I  am  conscious 
of  so  many  failings  on  my  own  part  that  I  don't 
feel  equal  to  attending  to  those  of  others. 

"I  have  to  perform  all  my  operations  now  in 
my  bathroom,  which  was  as  small  as  the  law  al- 
lowed before.  Now  with  an  operating  table  it 
is  decidedly  full.  I  do  not  mind  those  incon- 
veniences at  all,  however.  I  wish  I  could  look  for- 
ward to  as  good  accommodations  for  the  work  next 
year. 

"I  really  cannot  find  time  to  write  much  these 
days.  There  are  thirty  in-patients  in  the  hospital, 
most  of  them  fever  cases.  If  they  were  all  of  the 
common  class  they  would  serve  to  keep  one  person 
busy,  but  the  fact  of  belonging  partly  to  the  official 
class  accentuates  matters.  The  Lien-shan  official, 
his  wife,  his  cousin,  one  child,  and  a  whole  retinue 


102  Servants  of  the  King 

of  servants  are  in  the  hospital,  and  the  wife  and 
child  of  a  smaller  official.  To-night  I  have  a  case 
of  dementia  on  hand,  a  Lien-chou  official  who  has 
ruined  himself  with  opium.  He  is  only  thirty-five 
years  of  age  and  has  an  excellent  mind.  He  came 
to  me  this  evening  to  implore  protection.  He  thinks 
he  is  continually  pursued  by  demons.  I  had  no 
place  for  him  but  my  study.  He  is  sometimes  vio- 
lent and  has  to  be  carefully  watched.  So  I  am  sit- 
ting here  on  guard  now.  I  do  hope  he  will  recover, 
but  you  have  seen  enough  of  these  opium  cases  in 
the  hospital  to  know  what  they  are  like.  My  patient 
is  now  seated  at  the  table  reading,  but  I  can  see  that 
he  is  decidedly  fidgety.  He  is  a  fine,  tall  man  with 
a  clear  complexion  and  fine  white  teeth.  He  seems 
to  have  a  good  mind,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  he  is  in 
this  condition.  I  often  think  what  a  different  idea 
you  would  have  of  the  Chinese  if  you  could  see 
some  of  these  handsome,  well-dressed  gentlemen. 
They  are  so  polite  that  one  minute  I  am  filled  with 
awe  and  the  next  overcome  by  the  ludicrousness  of 
some  child-like  freak.  There  is  the  making  of  a 
great  nation  in  China. 

"One  of  my  patients,  a  wealthy  man,  the  one 
whose  wife  I  mentioned  before,  has  had  a  tablet 
made  for  me  like  the  one  the  Lien-shan  official  and 
his  cousin  presented  me  with.  The  tablet  is  to  be 
sent  in  the  morning  and  I  am  going  to  the  feast  in 


Eleanor  Chesnut  103 

the  evening.  I  dread  the  thought  of  it.  I  am  so 
tired.  I  wish  I  could  sleep  a  whole  day.  I  shall 
soon  be  rested,  however.  .  .  .  The  other  night 
the  druggist  gave  me  a  prescription  which  you  may 
find  useful,  though  the  ingredients  are  more  diffi- 
cult to  procure  in  America  than  in  China.  You 
must  catch  some  little  rats  whose  eyes  are  not  yet 
open,  pound  them  to  a  jelly,  and  add  lime  and 
peanut  oil.  Warranted  to  cure  any  kind  of  an  ulcer." 

How  many  surgeons  would  like  to  amputate  a 
leg  without  any  skilled  helper?  Of  course,  it  is 
done,  but  it  is  not  customary. 

During  the  time  above  mentioned  Mr.  Lingle 
occasionally  returned  to  the  station  from  his  almost 
constant  itineration.  He  came  to  Lien-chou  just 
when  Dr.  Chesnut  was  about  to  perform  such  an 
operation.  I  believe  he  held  the  leg,  but  Dr.  Ches- 
nut did  the  cutting  and  sewing, 

"The  operation  was  very  successful,"  wrote  one 
of  her  associates.  The  man  not  only  did  not  die  on 
the  table,  but,  better  still,  he  recovered  strength. 
Several  times  I  saw  him  going  about  on  crutches 
with  a  bright  smile  and  good  color.  But  Dr. 
Chesnut  was  not  satisfied  with  the  results.  The 
flaps  of  skin  which  were  to  fold  over  and  cover 
the  stump  did  not  fully  unite.  She  said  little 
about  it,  but  one  day,  when  she  was  at  my  place, 
I   observed   that   she   walked   with   an   appearance 


104  Servants  of  the  King 

of  pain.  I  asked  if  she  had  met  with  an  accident, 
but  she  said,  'Oh,  it's  nothing.'  Knowing  her  tem- 
perament, I  forbore  further  questioning,  but  in  a  few 
days  took  occasion  to  walk  over  to  Lien-chou,  and 
while  there  made  some  inquiries  of  our  good  women 
at  the  hospital.  'Yes,'  said  one,  nodding  her  head. 
'I  should  think  she  couldn't  walk  well  after  cutting 
off  so  much  skin  from  her  leg  to  put  on  that  boy's 
leg.'  She  was  determined,  at  any  cost,  to  make  it 
a  success.  This  was  just  like  Dr.  Chesnut.  To 
have  spoken  further  to  her  about  it  would  have  been 
to  let  her  know  that  I  knew  that  the  flaps  had  not 
united.  Silent  appreciation  of  her  sacrifice  was 
best." 

She  did  not  shrink  from  being  alone.  She  had 
written  some  years  before  of  preferring  it,  but  she 
felt  the  loneliness  none  the  less,  and  the  burden  of 
responsibility  was  very  heavy  for  her.  In  due  time 
new  missionaries  came  to  take  the  place  of  several 
who  had  stayed  on  the  field  but  a  brief  time,  and 
older  missionaries  returned  from  furlough.  The 
Board  did  its  best  to  keep  the  force  full.  Mean- 
while she  went  on  unflinchingly  with  her  work  far 
away  in  the  interior  alone. 

In  1900  the  money  was  provided  for  a  woman's 
hospital.  She  had  begun  the  building  in  faith  with 
^300  Mexican  before  she  knew  that  the  appropria- 
tion had  been  made  by  the  Board. 


Eleanor  Chesnut  105 

The  Boxer  troubles  in  the  north  had  sent  for- 
eigners in  all  parts  of  China  down  to  the  coast,  but 
for  months  Dr.  Chesnut  declined  to  go.  In  August, 
however,  the  pressure  from  Canton  became  so  great 
that  she  consented  to  go  down,  though  she  was 
without  fear.  In  the  spring,  when  the  storm  was 
over,  she  returned.  The  political  conditions  were 
full  of  perils,  however,  and  the  perils  did  not  de- 
crease, and  little  was  needed  to  touch  off  a  confla- 
gration, as  later  events  showed.  The  station  had 
always  kept  free  from  political  entanglements,  and 
that  was  one  great  safeguard.  But  great  care  was 
necessary. 

In  the  spring  of  1902  she  came  home  on  fur- 
lough. She  returned  by  way  of  Europe.  Her 
time  at  home  was  spent  visiting,  doing  postgraduate 
work  in  medicine,  making  missionary  addresses,  and 
raising  over  a  thousand  dollars  gold  to  supplement  a 
good  sum  raised  on  the  field  for  a  chapel  at  Lien- 
chou.  She  declined  a  proposal  that  came  to  her  to 
go  to  Hu-nan  to  take  charge  of  the  woman's  hos- 
pital medical  work  in  that  new  mission.  "I  con- 
cluded," she  wrote,  "that  it  would  be  a  mistake  for 
me  to  leave  Lien-chou.  I  am  acquainted  with  the 
people  there,  their  dialect,  diseases,  faults,  virtues, 
and  other  points.  Then  I  am  so  fond  of  them. 
I  do  not  believe  I  could  ever  have  quite  the  same 
feeling  of  affection  for  any  other  people.     All  my 


io6  Servants  of  the  King 

early  associations  in  missionary  life  are  connected 
with  them.  Moreover,  Lien-chou  has  been  so  un- 
fortunate in  the  matter  of  losing  its  missionaries 
that  I  fear  it  would  be  very  discouraging  to  those 
at  the  station.  The  work  is  increasing  every  year. 
Before  I  left  in  the  spring  there  was  work  enough 
for  twenty  missionaries  instead  of  five." 

In  the  fall  of  1903  she  returned  to  Lien-chou. 
Her  work  was  never  conceived  by  her  in  a  narrow 
sense,  however,  and  her  first  letter  to  the  Board  after 
her  return  was  a  clear  and  convincing  appeal  for 
a  building  for  the  boys'  boarding-school,  from  which 
they  were  obliged  to  turn  away  boys  because  the  old 
house  which  was  in  use  was  too  small.  Her  second 
letter  was  an  expression  of  her  hope  that  another 
doctor  might  be  sent  to  take  her  place  so  that  she 
could  go  to  Ham-kuang,  an  important  town  on  the 
river  south  of  Lien-chou,  near  the  abandoned  mission 
station  of  Kang-hau. 

But  she  did  not  go  to  Ham-kuang.  Her  next 
journey  was  to  another  city,  the  city  "whose  builder 
and  maker  is  God,"  and  the  day  of  her  departure 
was  near.  She  had  some  intimation  that  trouble 
might  be  coming.  The  talk  of  the  streets  as  she 
passed  by  was  intelligible  to  her,  and  she  knew  that 
the  general  condition  of  the  country  was  very  in- 
flammable. 

The  new  missionaries  whom  she  had  been  for 


Eleanor  Chesnut  107 

some  time  expecting,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peak  and  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Machle,  who  had  been  at  Canton  at  the 
mission  meeting,  arrived  at  the  station  on  the  eve- 
ning of  October  29th,  1905.  It  was  near  the  close 
of  the  Chinese  celebration  of  Ta  Tsin,  or  All  Souls' 
Day,  which  they  were  observing  with  the  usual 
idolatrous  ceremonies.  A  mat  shed  connected  with 
the  celebration  had  been  erected  on  mission  prop- 
erty. The  same  thing  had  been  done  the  year  be- 
fore, and  when  Dr.  Machle  spoke  about  it  to  the 
elders  of  the  village  in  which  the  mission  property 
lay,  they  agreed  that  it  was  improper  and  would 
not  be  done  again.  When  Dr.  Machle  went  to  the 
hospital  on  the  morning  of  October  28th  the  shed 
had  been  erected  on  mission  property  again.  He 
picked  up  accordingly  three  of  six  small  cannon 
which  were  being  fired  off  and  carried  them  to  the 
men's  hospital,  less  than  a  hundred  yards  away.  It 
was  a  customary  Chinese  way  of  indicating  that  he 
wished  to  confer  with  the  elders.  They  came  to 
see  him  accordingly  and  matters  were  arranged 
satisfactorily,  and  the  cannon  were  returned.  As 
the  elders  went  away  a  mob  came  from  the  opposite 
direction,  armed  with  a  sword,  a  revolver,  and  sticks. 
The  old  man  carrying  the  cannon  came  back  and 
told  the  mob  that  everything  was  satisfactorily  set- 
tled, but  the  rabble  had  already  determined  upon 
trouble,  had  indeed  probably  been  waiting  for  an 


io8  Servants  of  the  King 

opportunity  for  it,  and  attacked  the  hospital.  Dr. 
Chesnut  had  come  on  the  scene  during  the  discus- 
sion, and  on  seeing  the  turn  of  affairs,  instead  of 
going  into  the  hospital,  hurried  off,  pursued  by  part 
of  the  mob,  to  report  the  matter  to  the  Chinese  au- 
thorities. She  reached  the  police  boat  on  the  river 
and  might  have  escaped  in  safety,  but  seeing  the 
peril  of  the  others,  returned  to  Dr.  Machle's  resi- 
dence, where  all  the  other  missionaries,  save  Dr. 
Machle,  were  assembled — Mrs.  Machle,  Miss  Pat- 
terson, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peale  and  Amy  Machle,  a  little 
girl  of  eleven.  The  mob  increased.  The  Chinese 
officials  who  came  were  unable  to  do  anything  to 
restrain  them,  and  Dr.  Machle  joined  the  other 
missionaries  and  all  fled  by  a  back  door.  A  ferry- 
man refused  to  carry  them  across  the  river  to  Lien- 
chou,  and  they  started  toward  Sam-kong.  The  mob 
pursued  them  so  closely,  however,  that  they  sought 
refuge  in  a  Buddhist  temple  about  a  mile  away, 
where  they  hid  in  a  cave  opening  into  the  rocks  back 
of  the  temple.  Here  all  were  caught  except  Dr. 
Machle  and  Miss  Patterson,  who  were  separated 
from  the  others  and  in  deeper  recesses  of  the  cave. 
Mrs.  Machle  reasoned  calmly  with  the  mob  until 
a  blow  from  behind  ended  her  life.  The  little  girl 
was  flung  into  the  river  and  stabbed  and  drowned. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peale,  less  than  forty-eight  hours 
at  the  station,  were  slain  together.      Dr.  Chesnut 


Eleanor  Chesnut  109 

was  killed  first.    A  Chinese  eye-witness  told  of  her 
death : 

"I  arrived  at  the  temple  shortly  before  noon,  just 
in  time  to  see  the  mob  bringing  Dr.  Chesnut  down 
the  temple  steps  to  the  foot  of  a  large  tree,  and  she 
sat  down  on  a  mound  at  the  side.  Some  young 
fellows  then  went  up  to  her  and  hit  her  with  a  piece 
of  wood.  It  was  not  a  hard  blow.  Four  ruffians 
then  rushed  upon  her  and  dragged  her  from  the 
tree,  and  getting  behind  her  pushed  her  down  the 
steep  bank  leading  to  the  river  and  threw  her  into 
the  water,  where  she  lay  as  though  asleep.  Then 
one  of  the  men  jumped  into  the  river  and  stabbed 
her  with  a  trident  three  times — once  in  the  neck, 
once  in  the  breast,  and  once  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  abdomen.  Other  men  jumped  into  the  water. 
She  was  then  to  all  appearance  dead.  About  ten 
minutes  afterward  they  brought  the  body  ashore." 

The  last  service  she  rendered  the  Chinese  was 
under  this  tree,  when  she  noticed  a  boy  in  the  crowd 
-  who  had  an  ugly  gash  in  his  head.  Dr.  Chesnut 
called  him  to  her,  tore  off  a  portion  of  her  dress  and 
bound  up  the  wound.  It  was  her  last  patient.  The 
lad  came  afterward  to  the  missionaries  and  showed 
them  the  healed  wound.  Other  Chinese  boys  felt 
"  the  shame  and  disgrace  of  the  massacre,  and  one 
of  them  wrote  this  letter: 


no  Servants  of  the  King 

"Canton  Christian   College, 
"Canton,  China, 
"November  20,  1905. 
"To  the  Family  and  Relatives  of  Dr.  Eleanor  Chesnut : 

"We  are  sadly  shocked  and  deeply  chagrined  to  hear  of  the 
hideous  massacre  at  Lien-chou.  It  is  indeed  a  surprise  to  us. 
After  she  and  the  other  missionaries  up  there  have  done  so 
much  for  the  benefit  of  our  people,  instead  of  appreciating  and 
feeling  grateful  for  the  many  kindnesses  received,  they  repaid 
them  in  such  a  cruel  and  brutal  way.  This  is  a  shame  to  our 
people,  a  shame  to  our  race !  It  is  a  sad  and  melancholy  spec- 
tacle to  see  our  people  become  so  degraded  and  debased  men- 
tally; for  there  is  no  excuse  whatever  for  their  savagery  and 
brutality.    When  we  think  of  this  our  hearts  break. 

"We  can  imagine  your  distress  and  despair  at  the  loss  of 
your  loved  ones.  Believe  us,  you  have  our  warmest  sympathy 
and  prayers  for  God's  blessing  upon  you  all.  Your  loved  one 
has  but  gone  up  to  her  eternal  home  to  be  with  the  Savior. 
She  is  at  peace  after  a  life  of  labor  and  toil,  enjoying  her 
reward.  And  who  knows  btit  that  her  'faith  unto  death'  influ- 
ence may  be  more  to  the  lives  of  the  people  at  Lien-chou  here- 
after than  it  has  ever  been  before? 

"Accept  our  deepest  sympathy  and  heartfelt  apology. 
"With  the  utmost  respect  we  are  very  sincerely, 

"Students  of  Canton  Christian  College." 

It  was  clear,  however,  that  her  work  was  done,  her 
hfe  finished,  and  she  was  made  ready  for  the  higher 
service  of  the  hfe  everlasting.  All  the  hardness  of 
the  early  years  was  gone,  and  she  was  perfected  in 
love  at  last.  The  peculiarity  and  desolation  of  her 
girlhood  had  been  transformed  into  sympathy  with 
all  who  were  in  need  and  complete  and  Christlike 
ministry  to  all  suffering.  "As  a  college  girl,"  wrote 
one  of  her  classmates,  "she  was  somewhat  odd  and 
eccentric,  but  to  those  who  really  knew  her  she  was 
generous,  kind-hearted,  genuine,  and  especially  true 
to  her  friends.  She  was  mentally  one  of  the  brightest 


Eleanor  Chesnut  ill 

girls  in  the  class  of  '88.  As  a  medical  student  her 
eccentricities  decreased  and  her  life  grew  and  un- 
folded until,  when  she  went  to  China,  she  went 
thoroughly  trained  and  fitted  for  a  service  of  the 
finest  quahty.  One  little  incident  seems  to  me  to 
give  the  key  to  her  whole  life  as  a  missionary  in 
China.  She  heard  us  talking  in  our  home  of  a 
very  unlovely  old  woman  who  was  dependent  on  the 
church  and  who  made  herself  so  disagreeable  that 
it  was  sometimes  hard  to  find  money  for  her  sup- 
port. In  the  evening  she  came  to  Dr.  McAfee  and 
said :  'I  want  to  give  you  this  money  for  that  un- 
lovely old  woman  whom  nobody  loves.  My  life  is 
lived  so  much  among  unlovely  and  unlovable  people 
that  I  have  learned  to  have  great  sympathy  and  great 
love  for  them.'  'Not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister,'  was  the  key-note  of  the  life  of  her  Master, 
and  she,  too,  had  learned  not  only  to  minister  with 
no  thought  of  return,  but  to  love  to  do  so,  which  is 
a  far  greater  thing." 

"The  terrible  news  from  China  brought  by  our 
daily  papers  last  week  has  indeed  been  sadly  veri- 
fied," wrote  another.  "It  came  with  especial  sad- 
ness to  us,  because  of  our  opportunity  two  years  ago 
to  renew  with  Dr.  Chesnut  our  friendship  of  col- 
lege days  in  a  week's  visit  she  made  us  on  her  re- 
turn journey  to  China.  We  shall  always  be  thank- 
ful for  that  opportunity  to  know  the  strength  and 


112  Servants  of  the  King 

beauty  of  her  character  as  developed  in  those  lonely 
years  of  devoted  service  in  China.  So  unassuming 
and  modest  were  the  accounts  she  gave  of  her  life 
there,  that  not  till  she  had  gone  did  we  realize  the 
self-sacrifice  and  heroism  underlying  those  years. 
How  lonely  her  first  years  in  China  were  I  suppose 
we  at  home  can  never  know.  But  in  them  she  grew 
sweet  and  strong  and  wonderfully  sympathetic  and 
Christlike.  To  know  her  was  a  call  to  higher  living, 
to  nobler  serving.  She  has  gone  home,  but  who  can 
doubt  that  her  life  will  blossom  and  bear  fruit  in  the 
lives  of  many  of  those  Chinese  women  to  whom  in 
Christ's  name  she  gave  'all  she  had' — no  mean 
sacrifice?" 

All  this  perfected  character  was  not  lost  when  Dr. 
Chesnut  went.  It  was  simply  transferred  to  its  own 
higher  and  nobler  sphere.  She  had  come  thus  to 
trust  God.  So  also  may  we.  On  the  day  of  her 
death  a  letter  was  received  from  her,  in  the  Board 
rooms,  in  which  she  had  quoted  these  lines: 


"Being  in  doubt,  I  say, 
Lord,  make  it  plain ! 

Which  is  the  true,  safe  way? 
Which  would  be  in  vain? 


"I  am  not  wise  to  know, 
Not  sure  of  foot  to  go, 
My  blind  eyes  cannot  see 
What  is  so  clear  to  thee; 
Lord,  make  it  clear  to  me. 


Eleanor  Chesnut  113 

"Being  perplexed,  I  say, 
Lord,  make  it  right! 
Night  is  as  day  to  thee. 
Darkness  as  light. 

"I  am  afraid  to  touch 
Things  that  involve  so  much; 
My  trembling  hand  may  shake, 
My  skilless  hand  may  break— 
Thine  can  make  no  mistake." 


MATTHEW  TYSON  YATES 


"5 


So  much  work,  and  I  can't  do  any  of  it.    .    .    .    God  needs 
men.  — Mattliew  Tyson   Yates 


ii6 


VII 
MATTHEW  TYSON  YATES 

ABOUT  seventy-five  years  ago  a  group  of  boys 
were  playing  about  a  great  white  oak  tree 
near  an  "old-field  school"  in  North  Carolina.  An 
"old-field  school"  in  those  days  was  a  country  school 
held  in  a  schoolhouse  usually  situated  in  an  old 
field.  This  group  of  boys  had  come  out  for  recess 
and  were  having  a  lively  game  under  the  spreading 
limbs  of  an  old  tree.  The  boys  were  using  the  ends 
of  its  great  limbs,  which  reached  almost  down  to 
the  ground,  for  bases.  In  the  midst  of  the  game  one 
of  them  gave  a  challenge  to  get  off  base,  and  all 
the  fifteen  or  twenty  boys  responded  and  ran  out 
from  ten  to  twenty  feet  from  the  tree.  The  sky  was 
overcast,  but  there  had  been  neither  rain  nor  thunder. 
Just  on  the  moment  the  boys  were  safely  away  from 
the  tree,  however,  it  was  struck  twice  by  lightning 
in  two  consecutive  seconds  and  shivered  into  pieces. 
No  one  was  killed,  but  the  boys  were  hurled  to  the 
ground,  and  each  boy  had  on  his  body  for  hours  a 

117 


ii8  Servants  of  the  King 

deep  red  spot  as  large  as  a  dollar,  caused  by  the 
electricity. 

On  one  of  the  boys,  then  twelve  years  old,  the 
incident  so  sudden  and  unexpected  made  a  deep  im- 
pression. He  realized  in  a  new  way  the  power  and 
presence  of  God,  and  felt  that  he  must  go  off  and 
pray.  "The  next  morning,"  said  he,  "when  I  went 
into  a  dense  forest  to  find  a  certain  lot  of  pigs — the 
daily  care  of  which  had  been  committed  to  me — I 
sought  and  found,  in  a  thick  brush,  a  large  oak  that 
was  much  inclined  toward  the  south,  where  I  would 
be  protected  from  the  rain  and  snow  in  winter. 
There  I  erected  my  altar  of  prayer,  and  there,  for 
years,  I  prayed,  *God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.' 
At  night,  I  found  a  place  of  prayer  nearer  home, 
where  I  was  able  to  pray  unobserved." 

This  boy  was  Matthew  Tyson  Yates,  the  pioneer 
missionary  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention,  who 
was  to  spend  forty-three  years  as  a  missionary  in 
Shanghai,  China.  He  was  born  on  January  8, 
1 8 19.  His  father  was  a  North  Carolina  farmer,  who 
delighted  in  keeping  an  open  home  for  preachers  of 
all  denominations.  It  was  one  of  these  preachers. 
Father  Purefoy,  who  taught  the  boy  the  prayer  he 
prayed  in  the  woods.  On  one  of  his  visits  he  put 
his  hand  on  the  boy's  head,  saying,  "May  the  Lord 
make  a  preacher  of  him."  "This  blessing,"  said  Dr. 
Yates  years  afterward,  "made  an  impression  upon 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  119 

my  young  heart,  for  his  manner  was  kind  and  his 
tone  of  voice  serious." 

In  1836,  at  the  camp-meeting  at  Mount  Pisgah 
Church,  the  boy  openly  confessed  the  Savior  before 
men  and  was  baptized.  On  his  way  home  sore  temp- 
tation befell  him.  The  evil  one  told  him  that  he  had 
been  very  foolish  and  had  spoiled  his  life.  The  lad 
turned  aside  to  meet  his  adversary  by  prayer,  throw- 
ing himself  down  by  the  side  of  a  fallen  tree. 
"When  I  had  been  praying  I  know  not  how  long," 
he  said,  "I  heard  a  great  noise  in  the  leaves  on  the 
other  side  of  the  fallen  tree,  like  some  one  approach- 
ing me.  It  became  so  demonstrative  that  I  raised 
myself  to  see  what  it  was.  And  lo,  there  was  a 
kingsnake,  not  more  than  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
in  deadly  conflict  with  a  very  large  black  serpent  not 
less  than  six  feet  long.  The  noise  was  caused  by 
the  struggle  of  the  blacksnake  to  prevent  himself 
being  doubled  by  his  assailant  into  the  form  of  a 
rude  ball.  The  striped  little  kingsnake  was  entwined 
in  and  out  of  this  ball,  and  in  this  position,  by 
alternate  contractions,  he  crushed  the  bones  of  his 
apparently  more  powerful  enemy,  and  then  extricated 
himself  and  crawled  quietly  away,  leaving  the  black- 
snake  dead.  I  felt  that  it  was  good  to  be  there; 
so  I  again  resumed  my  supplication  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, and  then  went  on  my  way  comforted  and  rejoic- 
ing, feeling  that  this  incident  taught  me  that  the  Lion 


120  Servants  of  the  King 

of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  Jesus,  was  able  to  conquer 
even  the  old  serpent  himself.  And  in  many  a  con- 
flict since,  I  have  evidence  of  his  presence  to  protect, 
comfort,  and  direct  me  in  the  way  I  should  go.  That 
day  and  night  I  rested  in  Jesus.  In  meditating  upon 
what  I  had  done,  and  upon  the  incident  of  the  day, 
and  realizing  that  Jesus  on  the  cross  had  vanquished 
Satan,  I  had  great  joy.  Henceforth  the  burden  of 
my  prayer  at  the  old  oak  tree  and  elsewhere  was, 
'Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?  Show  me 
my  duty,  and  grant  me  grace  and  courage  to  do  it.'  " 

He  made  a  beginning  in  Christian  work  by  get- 
ting up  a  prayer-meeting  with  two  other  boys.  The 
old  people  came  and  the  three  boys  were  so 
frightened  that  they  made  sorry  work  of  the  meet- 
ing, but  it  was  a  beginning  from  which  Matthew  did 
not  turn  back. 

When  he  was  nineteen  he  started  off  to  the 
academy  and  college  at  Wake  Forest,  North  Caro- 
lina. He  had  a  conviction  that  he  was  not  to  be 
a  farmer  and  asked  his  father  to  help  him  to  an 
education.  "He  regretted  extremely  his  inability 
to  send  all  his  children  abroad  to  a  good  school," 
says  Yates,  "and  said  that  for  him  to  attempt  to 
send  me  would  be  making  an  invidious  distinc- 
tion. I  then  told  him  that  when  I  became  a  free 
man  I  intended  to  go  to  school  if  I  had  to  make 
brick  by  moonlight  to  pay  my  way,  and  asked  him 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  121 

if  he  would  allow  me  liberty  to  go  to  school  on  my 
own  responsibility  when  I  was  nineteen,  the  age 
at  which  my  oldest  brother  had  married.  To  this 
he  assented  and  promised  to  assist  me  some. 
With  desire  I  looked  forward  to  the  next  year, 
when  I  hoped,  with  the  proceeds  of  my  horse, 
saddle,  and  bridle,  to  commence  preparation  for  new 
work.  I  felt  that  God  had  something  for  me  to  do 
in  the  world,  and  that  my  first  duty  was  to  prepare 
myself  for  it.  As  I  was  a  full-grown  man  and  had 
not  the  means  to  accomplish  what  I  had  set  before 
me,  the  prospect  seemed  dark  indeed.  But  I  resolved 
that,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  I  would  make  a  way 
— that  no  obstacle  that  could  be  overcome  by  human 
effort  should  be  regarded  as  insurmountable.  This 
decision,  made  upon  my  knees,  gave  me  courage  and 
afforded  some  relief.  Thenceforth  the  object  which 
I  had  set  before  me  was  the  center  around  which 
all  my  thoughts,  prayers,  plans,  and  hopes  revolved." 
He  made  his  way,  in  part  by  teaching  vocal  music, 
for  he  had  a  remarkable  voice ;  in  part  by  commend- 
ing himself  to  the  Church  as  a  man  of  promise  well 
deserving  its  assistance,  and  in  part,  we  may  be  sure, 
by  prayer.  In  college  as  at  home  he  had  his  secret 
place  for  meeting  God.  He  prayed  in  his  room  fear- 
lessly, but  as  other  boarders  shared  his  room  he  says, 
"I  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  the  woods  again 
for  an  altar  of  prayer." 


122  Servants  of  the  King 

At  Wake  Forest  he  decided  quietly,  after  long 
debate  of  conscience,  that  it  was  his  duty  to  become 
a  minister,  and  this  led  on  at  once  with  him  to  the 
purpose  to  be  a  foreign  missionary.  Indeed,  he 
had  long  thought  of  the  work  on  the  foreign  field. 
As  a  boy  he  had  read  the  memoirs  of  Mrs,  Judson, 
and  as  he  followed  the  plow  or  worked  with  his 
trowel  he  wept,  he  says,  for  hours  at  the  thought 
of  the  world  without  Christ  its  Savior.  His  health 
hindered  him  for  a  time,  but  not  long,  as  he  had  a 
powerful  physique,  and  was  resolutely  determined 
that  he  must  go.  He  wrote  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Foreign  Mission  Board  in  Richmond,  Virginia :  "I 
have,  with  prayerful  meditation,  looked  over  the 
globe,  and  there  is  no  field  which  seems  to  me  so  in- 
viting as  China.  I  am  now  resolved,  and  I  hope  that 
I  have  been  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  that,  let 
others  say  what  they  may  about  rushing  into  danger, 
I  will  go  wheresoever  God  in  his  providence  may 
direct  me.  Since  coming  to  this  irrevocable  conclu- 
sion my  feelings  and  affections  seem  to  have  winged 
their  way  to  China.  This  enterprise  has  swallowed 
up  every  other." 

On  August  3,  1846,  he  was  appointed,  the  first 
foreign  missionary  to  go  out  from  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  He  was  married  on  September  27,  and 
on  April  26,  1847,  he  and  Mrs.  Yates  sailed  from 
Boston    for    Hongkong    on    a    sailing    vessel  and 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  123 

reached  Shanghai,  only  four  years  before  opened 
to  foreigners,  on  September  12.  He  knew  no  one 
in  the  city.  There  was  no  foreign  hotel  or  boarding- 
house.  He  had  a  letter  to  the  Austrian  consul,  but 
his  home  was  full  of  shipwrecked  sailors.  The  con- 
sul sent  him  to  Bishop  Boone  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church.  The  bishop's  house,  too,  was  full,  but 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yates  joyfully  slept  on  the  parlor  floor. 
With  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  bishop's  mission- 
aries a  large  pawnbroker's  establishment,  which  the 
Chinese  regarded  as  haunted  and  would  not  rent, 
was  secured.  "All  the  partitions  above  stairs,"  says 
Dr.  Yates,  "had  been  removed,  leaving  a  large  barn- 
like hall.  Here  were  abundant  signs  of  the  spirits 
or  ghosts  of  which  we  had  been  duly  warned — rats. 
Into  one  side  of  this  dirty  place  we  moved  ourselves, 
with  sundry  boxes  and  trunks  containing  our  world- 
ly goods.  This  was  a  time  to  hear  words  of  com- 
plaint from  a  wife,  if  she  had  not  counted  the  cost 
or  fully  made  up  her  mind  to  share  my  fortune.  But 
from  that  day  to  the  present  no  such  word  has  ever 
been  known  to  pass  her  lips.  All  honor  to  a  brave 
woman!  I  had  come  provided  with  a  box  of  car- 
penter's tools.  Bedstead,  cooking-stove,  crockery, 
and  other  articles  were  soon  unpacked,  so  far  as  to 
provide  for  immediate  necessities.  And,  with  the 
boards  and  nails  of  packing-cases,  my  own  hands 


124  Servants  of  the  King 

extemporized  a  partition  higher  than  a  man's  head, 
and  so  made  a  private  room." 

A  servant  was  secured,  but  he  knew  no  English, 
and  the  new  missionaries  knew  no  Chinese.  "How- 
ever, we  had  learned  one  sentence  of  the  spoken 
language:  Te-ko-kiaw-sa?  {'What  is  this  called F') 
Thus  supplied  with  a  house,  a  cook,  a  ham,  a 
few  vegetables  (we  had  also  a  few  biscuits  with 
us),  and  one  sentence  of  the  spoken  language,  we 
commenced  life  in  Shanghai.  Moreover,  our  com- 
bined knowledge  of  practical  housekeeping  soon 
demonstrated  that  we  had  imported  an  ignorance 
that  was  equivalent  to  paralysis.  We  could  not 
give  the  cook  directions  about  our  first  meal,  nor 
could  we  cook  a  bowl  of  rice  ourselves.  A  dilemma ! 
But  something  had  to  be  done.  Hard  work  at 
opening  cases  and  unpacking  reminded  us  that  it 
was  dinner-time.  The  cook  stood  before  us,  grin- 
ning as  he  waited  for  orders.  What  should  I  do? 
I  believed  that  I  could  fry  a  slice  of  ham  and 
scramble  a  few  eggs.  So,  armed  with  the  one 
sentence,  'What  is  this  called?'  and  Mrs.  Yates 
with  blank  book  and  pencil  for  taking  notes,  down 
the  ladder  we  crawled  to  the  improvised  kitchen, 
followed  by  the  cook,  who  for  the  time  was 
our  teacher.  I  pointed  at  the  cooking-stove,  and 
said,  Te-ko-kiaw-sa f  (What  is  this  called?)  An- 
swer, Tih-tsaw.     'Write  that  down.'     Seizing  a  bit 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  125 

of  wood,  I  said,  Te-ko-kiaw-sa?  Answer,,  Sza. 
I  struck  a  match,  and  pointing  at  the  fire,  said,  Te- 
ko-kiaw-sa  f  Answer,  Who.  I  made  a  fire  in  the 
stove:  Te-ko-kiaw-sa?  Answer,  Sang-who.  In  like 
manner  I  took  the  carving-knife,  the  ham,  cut  the 
ham,  took  up  a  frying-pan,  cleaned  it,  fried  the 
ham,  took  some  eggs,  scrambled  them,  put  them  in 
a  dish,  asking  about  everything  and  every  act,  Te- 
ko-kiaw-sa?  and  Mrs.  Yates  writing  down  the 
answer. 

"We  then  crawled  up  the  ladder  to  our  great  hall, 
feeling  that  we  had  accomplished  something.  Taking 
a  cloth,  the  lining  of  a  box,  to  spread  on  a  packing- 
case  (for  we  had  no  table),  I  said,  Te-ko-kiaw-sa f 
Answer,  Tsz-tare.  Then,  placing  on  it  all  the  furni- 
ture necessary  for  our  simple  repast,  and  asking  the 
name  of  each  article,  I  said,  Te-ko-kiaw-sa?  An- 
swer, Batay-tsz  (set  the  table).  We  partook  of 
ham  and  eggs  with  relish,  asking  no  questions  till 
we  had  finished.  Then  I  said,  Te-ko-kiaw-sa? 
Answer,  Ch'uh-van  (eat  rice). 

"Thus  we  prepared  and  ate  our  first  meal  in  our 
own  hired  house.  The  character  of  our  conversa- 
tion, while  we  ate,  I  leave  you  to  imagine;  for  the 
way  before  us  was  dark. 

"With  the  aid  of  an  English-Chinese  dictionary 
we  were  able  to  find  the  words  for  fish,  fowl,  mutton, 
also  for  some  vegetables,  and  for  buy.    By  pointing 


126  Servants  of  the  King 

to  these  words  in  the  dictionary  we  managed  in  our 
orders  to  substitute  one  or  other  of  these  articles 
for  ham,  and  so  varied  our  diet  a  little." 

So  they  began.  With  a  teacher  who  knew  nothing 
about  instructing  a  foreigner  how  to  talk  they  com- 
menced the  study  of  the  language.  How  different 
it  all  is  now.  Yates  said,  years  afterward :  *'A  mis- 
sionary arriving  in  Shanghai  hereafter  can  never 
know  the  luxury  of  roughing  it  or  of  digging  for 
the  language.  In  most  instances,  a  missionary  friend 
will  know  about  the  hour  he  is  to  arrive  and  meet 
him  at  the  steamboat  wharf  and  conduct  him  to  his 
comfortable  home.  If  he  is  a  stranger,  three  runners 
from  good  hotels  will,  as  soon  as  the  steamer  is  made 
fast,  present  their  cards  and  offer  their  services : 
'Carriage  at  the  wharf,  sir;  go  right  up.'  And  when 
he  is  rested  and  ready  to  commence  the  study  of  the 
language,  he  will  find  in  English  and  Chinese  First 
Lessons  in  Chinese,  grammars,  and  a  great  variety 
of  books,  including  the  Scriptures  and  many  religious 
tracts  in  the  Shanghai  dialect,  both  in  the  Roman 
and  Chinese  characters.  With  these,  and  a  will  to 
fit  himself  for  work,  he  ought  to  learn  the  spoken 
language  in  a  much  shorter  time  than  we,  who  came 
earlier,  were  able  to  do." 

Yates  learned  the  language  quickly  and  accurately. 
Trouble  with  his  eyesight  prevented  the  study  from 
books  which  he  would  have  liked  to  do,  but  it  com- 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  127 

pelled  him  to  mingle  with  the  people,  where  his 
quick  ear  enabled  him  to  acquire  a  richness  of  vo- 
cabulary and  an  accuracy  of  tone  which  made  him 
one  of  the  best  speakers  of  Chinese  in  Shanghai. 
If  he  spoke  where  he  was  unseen  the  Chinese  could 
not  tell  that  it  was  a  foreigner. 

There  was  great  fear  and  dislike  of  foreigners  at 
that  time,  and  the  people  were  prejudiced  against 
the  new  teachers.  But  Mr.  Yates  soon  had  a  large 
hall  for  preaching  services,  and  here  great  com- 
panies assembled  to  hear  the  foreigner.  When 
interruptions  came,  the  missionary  was  a  match 
for  them.  "I  remember,"  says  he,  "preaching  on 
one  occasion  to  a  full  house  when  my  skill  was 
put  to  test.  During  my  sermon  I  touched  upon 
the  teachings  of  Confucius.  Thereupon  a  literary 
man  rose  to  his  feet,  about  the  center  of  the 
church,  and  began  to  speak.  In  order  to  counter- 
act the  effect  of  the  point  I  had  made  against 
his  cherished  system,  he  commenced  repeating,  from 
memory,  portions  of  the  Confucius  classics  in  the 
book  style.  This  could  not  be  understood  by  any 
one  who  had  not  committed  to  memory  those  por- 
tions of  the  classics.  When  he  took  his  seat,  all 
eyes  were  turned  upon  me,  for  I  had  remained  silent 
while  he  was  talking.  I  felt  that  it  was  necessary 
for  me  to  meet  this  unexpected  sally,  or  that  what 
I  had  gained  would  be  lost.    I  had  not  been  out  of 


128  Servants  of  the  King 

college  so  long  that  I  could  not  repeat  some  of  the 
speeches  which  I  had  declaimed  when  a  freshman. 
So  I  commenced,  in  English,  with  the  familiar  ex- 
tract from  Wirt's  celebrated  speech,  'Who  is  Blen- 
nerhassett?'  After  declaiming  for  a  few  minutes 
in  the  most  approved  style,  I  stopped  and  gazed  at 
my  man.  All  eyes  were  at  once  turned  upon  him, 
as  much  as  to  say,  'What  have  you  to  say  to  thatf 
After  a  moment's  silence,  he  said,  'Who  can  under- 
stand foreign  talk?'  I  replied,  'Who  can  under- 
stand Wenli  (book-style)  ?  If  you  have  anything  to 
say  let  us  have  it  in  the  spoken  language,  so  that  all 
can  understand  and  be  profited.'  'Yes,'  said  many 
voices,  'speak  so  that  we  can  all  understand.'  He 
then  attempted  an  argument,  but  it  happened  to  be 
a  point  on  which  I  was  well  posted.  At  a  single 
stroke  of  my  sledge-hammer  he  succumbed  before 
the  whole  audience." 

As  soon  as  possible  Yates  pressed  out  from  Shang- 
hai into  the  country.  He  was  a  great  curiosity  to 
the  people  who  had  never  seen  a  foreigner.  A 
large  amount  of  this  curiosity  had  to  be  gratified  be- 
fore he  found  it  possible  to  get  access  to  their  minds. 
This  was  the  first  missionary  work  that  had  to  be 
done,  and  is,  even  now,  in  a  strange  locality.  It  was 
only  after  giving  a  sort  of  exhibition  of  himself 
several  times  at  a  place  that  he  had  a  chance  to 
preach  to  an  attentive  audience.     Even  then  it  was 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  129 

necessary  to  request  two  or  three  persons  to  keep 
barking  dogs  away.  It  is  a  depressing  thouglit  that 
it  takes  a  long  time,  in  a  strange  locaHty,  for  Chinese 
to  hear  what  a  foreigner  is  saying.  They  may  under- 
stand each  word  that  he  utters,  but,  not  apprehending 
what  is  the  subject  that  he  is  talking  about  and  their 
minds  not  being  accustomed  to  thinking,  they  do 
not  leave  old  ruts  very  easily. 

This  country  work  was  soon  interrupted,  for  from 
1853  to  1856  Shanghai  was  beset  by  rebels.  The 
T'ai-p'ing  Rebellion  was  in  progress,  but  the  dis- 
turbance at  Shanghai  was  purely  local  and  not  con- 
nected with  the  T'ai-p'ing  insurrection.  Yates' 
house  was  in  the  native  city  and  in  a  position  of 
danger.  For  sixteen  months  Mr.  Yates  occupied  it 
alone,  though  shot  often  crashed  through  the  win- 
dows or  against  the  wall  at  the  foot  of  his  bed. 
At  last  the  government  purchased  the  house  to  use 
as  a  base  of  operation  against  the  rebels,  and  he 
moved  out. 

When  the  rebellion  was  over  his  health  became 
so  much  impaired  that  the  doctor  ordered  him  to 
leave  for  a  year.  The  ship  on  which  he  and  his 
family  sailed  was  so  nearly  wrecked  that  they  were 
picked  up  by  a  Siamese  ship  and  taken  back  to 
Shanghai,  whence,  on  November  17,  1857,  they 
started  again  for  New  York  City.  On  the  voyage 
their  supplies  gave  out  and  they  were  reduced  to 


130  Servants  of  the  King 

dried  apples.  At  last,  after  reaching  a  point  within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  New  York,  they 
were  eleven  days  getting  in  because  of  hard  winds 
and  storms. 

At  home  on  furlough,  some  members  of  Mr. 
Yates'  old  church  criticized  him  for  being  dressed 
too  well.  At  length  it  was  referred  to  openly  in  a 
meeting.  Then  "Mr.  Yates  arose  with  an  almost 
heavenly  smile  on  his  countenance.  He  said  that 
he  did  not  dress  extravagantly;  that  nearly  every- 
thing that  he  wore  at  the  time  had  been  given  to 
him  by  Brother  Skinner  and  other  brethren  eleven 
years  before,  when  he  went  to  China.  The  effect 
was  overwhelming.  No  one  could  be  found  who 
would  confess  that  he  had  said  anything  about  Mr. 
Yates'  style  of  dress,"  He  was  always  neat  in  his 
personal  appearance,  but  also  very  careful  and 
frugal,  and  he  did  not  believe  that  home  Christians 
should  delegate  all  the  self-denial  to  the  missionaries. 

Just  after  his  return  to  China  the  Civil  War  broke 
out  at  home.  He  was  then  in  the  thick  of  the  work 
in  Shanghai.  The  war  destroyed  the  ability  of  the 
South  to  maintain  its  missionaries,  and  Dr.  Yates 
had  to  find  some  way  of  self-support.  The  municipal 
council  of  the  foreign  community  and  the  United 
States  consulate  offered  him  work  as  an  interpreter, 
and  in  this  way  he  supported  his  family  and  also 
the  mission  until  the  end  of  the  war.     In  this  posi- 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  13 1 

tion  he  won  still  further  the  honor  and  respect  of 
the  whole  community.  The  work  did  not  take  much 
of  his  time  and  it  left  him  free  to  go  on  with  his 
preaching.  In  1864  he  visited  Europe,  where  he 
won  the  lasting  interest  of  all  whom  he  met,  and 
the  following  year  returned  to  China,  to  which  he 
henceforth  always  referred  as  "home."  "It  seems 
to  be  the  will  of  the  Lord  that  I  should  wear  out 
here,"  he  wrote.  He  began  to  feel  now  that  he  had 
at  last  learned  the  secret  of  the  Chinese  heart.  About 
the  methods  of  the  work  he  had  strong  convictions, 
as  he  said  at  the  Shanghai  Missionary  Conference 
in  1871 : 

"To  secure  an  aggressive  native  church,  there 
are  some  things  which  I  regard  as  fundamental : 

"i.  A  converted  and  evangelical  membership.  To 
admit  any  other  element  into  our  churches,  even 
though  they  may  be  persons  of  wealth  or  influence 
as  scholars,  is  to  paralyze  the  whole  church. 

"2.  They  should  be  taught  that  when  they  em- 
brace Christianity  they  become  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  not  the  disciples  of  the  missionary. 

"3.  As  they  become  the  disciples  of  Jesus  they 
should  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his  teach- 
ings in  the  language  in  which  they  think  and  speak. 
They  should  be  encouraged  to  commit  to  memory 
precious  and  practical  portions  of  the  New  Testa- 


132  Servants  of  the  King 

ment  in  the  spoken  language  of  their  particular 
locality. 

"4.  They  should  be  taught  the  individuality  of 
their  religion,  that  they  are  personally  responsible 
to  God ;  that  they  can  and  ought  to  exert  a  personal 
influence  in  behalf  of  the  religion  which  they  profess. 

"We  need  to  take  hold  and  show  them  how  it 
should  be  done.  This  will  be  easy  to  do,  for  the 
Chinese  are  good  imitators,  and  example  is  a  good 
teacher.  And  at  first,  if  they  need  a  little  aid,  we 
should  render  it,  for  nothing  is  so  encouraging  as 
success.  We  should  strive  to  avoid  the  depressing 
influence  of  failure.  And  let  it  be  ever  borne  in 
mind  that  we  need  not  expect  our  native  preachers 
to  be  as  aggressive  as  ourselves." 

With  characteristic  large-mindedness  and  courage, 
Dr.  Yates  wrote,  about  thirty  years  ago :  'T  have 
surveyed  and  studied  a  line  of  attack  for  the 
Southern  Baptists;  that  is,  the  line  of  the  great 
River  Yang-tzu  to  the  Ssu-ch'uan  Province  in 
the  west."  Later  on,  with  more  detail,  he  gave  the 
following  outline  of  his  plans  and  labors :  "In  due 
time,  with  Shanghai  as  a  base  of  operations,  I  chose 
Su-chou,  on  the  Grand  Canal,  and  Chin-chiang,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Grand  Canal  with  the  Yang-tzu 
River,  as  the  great  centers  for  a  great  work,  when 
the  men  should  be  found  to  occupy  them.  These 
three  cities,  from  a  commercial  point  of  view,  domi- 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  133 

nate  a  population  of  more  than  twenty  million  souls. 
They  are  situated  in  the  form  of  a  right-angled  tri- 
angle ;  the  Grand  Canal  forming  one  side ;  an  equally 
grand  canal  from  Shanghai  to  Su-chou  forming  the 
other  side ;  while  the  Yang-tzu  River  is  the  hypoth- 
enuse  of  the  triangle.  From  Shanghai  to  Su-chou 
is  eighty-five  miles;  from  Su-chou  to  Chin-chiang 
is  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  miles ;  from  Chin- 
chiang  to  Shanghai  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
miles  by  the  river." 

From  constant  preaching,  his  voice  failed  him. 
He  had  overtaxed  it,  and  for  years  to  come  his 
struggle  was  to  recover  its  use.  He  came  to 
America  and  visited  Europe  and  went  to  great 
doctors,  and  at  last  he  was  able  with  care  to  re- 
sume the  full  activity  in  which  he  delighted.  Dur- 
ing these  years  he  was  for  a  time  the  American 
vice-consul-general  in  Shanghai,  using  the  money 
he  received  to  build  chapels  and  advance  the  work, 
but  when  offered  the  position  of  consul-general  he 
refused  and  resigned  at  the  same  time  the  office  of 
vice-consul.  "I  could  not  accept  it,"  he  said,  "with- 
out giving  up  my  missionary  work — my  life-work. 
No  office,  no  gift  of  the  government,  could  induce 
me  to  do  that  while  I  am  able  to  preach  and  translate. 
I  resigned,  therefore,  the  honors  and  the  emolu- 
ment." 

Dr.  Yates  had  met  all  difficulties  triumphantly  so 


134  Servants  of  the  King 

far,  and  had  turned  them  to  good.  His  failure  of 
eyesight  led  him  to  become  a  master  of  the  common 
speech  of  the  people.  The  failure  of  his  voice  led 
him  to  throw  burdens  on  the  native  Church  which 
strengthened  it.  The  war  cut  off  supplies  from 
home,  and  he  earned  more  upon  the  field  than  he 
had  been  receiving  and  applied  it  to  the  work.  And 
now  he  began  to  suffer  from  an  affliction  for  which 
he  had  nine  surgical  operations,  so  he  turned  to 
Bible  translation,  and  the  result  was  the  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  into  the  spoken  language  of 
many  millions.  Only  his  robust  physique  enabled 
him  to  stand  all  this  strain.  He  had  always  taken 
care  of  his  health.  As  he  wrote  to  a  missionary  can- 
didate :  "The  first  qualification  of  a  foreign  mission- 
ary is  to  be  a  good  animal.  You  may  be  furnished 
with  a  first-class  instrument,  but  without  physical 
strength  to  wield  it,  it  would  be  of  little  service  to 
you.  Therefore,  guard  your  health  with  sedulous 
care  as  to  the  Lord.  Live  well  and  take  regular 
exercise.  Play  lawn  tennis,  notwithstanding  what 
the  drones  may  say  about  such  sports  for  a  candi- 
date for  the  foreign  mission  field.  We  are  not 
bound  to  observe  the  austerity  of  life  that  a  super- 
stitious public  is  too  ready  to  prescribe.  The  Scrip- 
tures prescribe  no  such  austerity.  Exercise  in  the 
open  air  is  necessary  to  secure  health  of  body  and 
mind  and  to  preserve  youthful  spirits.     From  the 


Matthew  Tyson  Yates  135 

time  I  entered  college  until  I  graduated,  I  was  in 
the  habit  of  running  two  miles  every  morning  at 
four  o'clock.  Even  now,  I  walk  my  two  miles  a  day. 
I  am  in  splendid  health,  for  which  I  am  profoundly 
thankful." 

Calls  came  to  him  from  America  to  return  to 
positions  of  influence  here,  but  he  would  not  listen. 
"I  could  not  come  down,"  he  wrote,  "from  the 
position  of  an  ambassador  for  Christ  to  an  empire, 
to  become  president  of  a  college  or  to  accept  any 
other  position  in  the  gift  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States."  He  drove  straight  on  in  his  own  work  and 
sought  to  hearten  others  who  were  discouraged.  "A 
few  days  ago,"  he  wrote  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven, 
"I  wrote  to  Mr.  Devault,  who  is  ill  at  Tung-chou, 
urging  him  to  maintain,  in  addition  to  strong  con- 
victions in  regard  to  his  work,  an  indomitable  will 
to  do  what  Christ  had  commanded  him  to  do,  and 
then  leave  the  whole  matter  of  health  in  the  Lord's 
hands.  I  gave  him  a  prescription  from  my  own 
experience.  During  my  first  years  in  China,  I  was 
so  run  down  by  ague  and  fever  that  I  thought  that 
my  work  was  finished.  I  came  before  the  Lord  in 
this  wise:  'O  Lord,  if  it  be  thy  will  that  my  work 
end  now,  thy  will  be  done.  If  it  is  thy  will  that 
my  strength  be  restored  to  work  for  thee  in  this  land 
of  darkness,  behold  thy  servant  for  all  time.'  The 
decades  that  have  passed  show  that  the  Lord  was 


136  Servants  of  the  King 

only  harnessing  me  up  for  a  forty-year  trot  at  the 
rate  of  2.20.  There  is  Hfe  and  protection  in  strong 
convictions,  indomitable  will,  and  faith  in  God.  This 
life,  this  protection  against  temptation  and  spiritual 
deadness,  is  available  to  all  Christians  in  every  con- 
dition of  life." 

But  the  strong  life  could  not  last  forever,  and 
at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  he  died  at  Chin-chiang, 
where  he  had  gone  to  build  a  new  chapel.  "So  much 
work,"  he  said  as  he  lay  sick  with  his  last  illness, 
"and  I  can't  do  any  of  it."  "God  can  have  it  done," 
said  an  associate.  "But  God  needs  men,"  was  his 
answer.  After  forty-one  years  in  Shanghai  God 
met  him  and  took  him.  "I  am  ready  to  go,"  he  was 
able  to  say  before  the  end,  "if  God  wants  me.  I 
should  like  to  live  and  work  longer,  but  I  am  ready." 
So  he  passed  forward,  his  little  church  in  Shanghai 
mourning  for  him.  "We  have  lost  our  good  shep- 
herd," they  said,  "and  the  flock  is  bleating." 


ISABELLA  THOBURN 


»37 


The  power  of  educated  womanhood  is  simply  the  power  of 
skilled  service.  We  are  not  in  the  world  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister.  The  world  is  full  of  need,  and  every 
opportunity  to  help  is  a  duty. 

— Isabella  Thoburn 


138 


yZ4^^i^^^~ey^iX <Zy   ^j/^cy^U-zi.y'x^-t^ — 


VIII 
ISABELLA  THOBURN 

FORTY  years  ago  a  missionary  was  traveling" 
and  preaching  among  the  villages  in  Rohil- 
khand,  India.  One  day,  when  his  tent  was  pitched 
in  a  mango  orchard,  he  went  out  for  a  walk  in  the 
shade  of  the  trees.  In  the  broken  tops  of  one  of 
the  trees  a  vulture  had  built  her  nest,  and  passing 
near  the  place  the  missionary  picked  up  a  quill  which 
had  fallen  from  her  wing.  Taking  out  his  pen- 
knife he  cut  the  quill  into  a  pen,  and  as  it  looked 
like  a  good  pen,  although  it  was  very  big,  he  went 
into  his  tent  to  see  if  he  could  write  with  it.  He 
found  that  it  would  write  very  well,  and  he  thought 
it  would  interest  his  sister,  far  away  in  America,  if 
he  wrote  to  her  with  his  strange  pen.  So  he  wrote 
with  the  vulture's  quill  a  description  of  the  work 
he  was  doing  in  the  villages,  and  told  her  of  the 
great  need  of  a  boarding-school  at  some  central 
place  where  the  girls  from  the  villages  could  come 
and  be  trained  for  future  usefulness,  and  then  be 
sent  back  to  carry  light  to  their  darkened  homes. 

139 


140  Servants  of  the  King 

The  big  pen  asked,  at  the  close  of  the  letter,  and  the 
question  was  almost  thoughtless,  "How  would  you 
like  to  come  and  take  charge  of  such  a  school?"  By 
the  first  steamer  which  could  bring  a  reply  the  sister's 
answer  came,  that  she  would  leave  for  India  just 
as  soon  as  the  way  was  opened  for  her  to  do  so. 

That  was  the  way  the  call  came  to  Isabella  Tho- 
burn.  But  she  would  not  have  heard  it  if  she  had 
not  been  ready  for  it.  Many  things  had  been  making 
her  ready.  God  had  given  her  the  right  ancestry. 
Her  Scotch-Irish  parents  had  come  to  America  from 
Belfast  in  1825,  fifteen  years  before  Isabella  was 
born,  and  settled  near  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  where 
the  five  sisters  and  five  brothers  spent  a  happy  child- 
hood. Her  father  died  when  she  was  ten  years  old, 
but  not  before  his  great  strength  of  character,  his 
fear  of  God,  and  his  courageous  devotion  to  the  right 
had  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  child.  Her 
mother  was  "a  woman  of  clear  convictions,  prompt 
decision,  and  extraordinary  courage.  One  day,  when 
alone  with  one  of  her  daughters,  a  maniac  rushed 
into  the  room,  brandishing  an  ax  in  a  state  of  great 
excitement.  The  daughter  was  almost  paralyzed 
with  terror,  but  the  mother  spoke  kindly  to  him,  con- 
tinued at  her  work,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  asked 
him  to  let  her  take  his  ax,  which  he  at  once  gave  up, 
and  very  soon  he  became  docile  as  a  child.  Her 
moral  courage  was  not  less  marked  than  her  physical, 


Isabella  Thoburn  141 

and  her  general  character  was  that  of  a  strong  but 
tender  and  sympathetic  woman."  In  all  this  Isabella 
reproduced  her  mother,  and  when,  years  later,  she 
laid  aside  her  work  and  nursed  a  smallpox  patient 
in  Lucknow  she  justified  herself  by  appealing  to  her 
mother's  example,  who  night  after  night  had  cared 
for  a  poor  neighbor  sick  with  the  same  disease,  with- 
out one  thought  of  fear  for  herself  or  her  children. 
It  was  a  sincere  and  consecrated  home  in  which  the 
child  grew  up.  When  the  farm  was  at  last  paid  for, 
the  father  brought  home  the  last  note  and  two  gold 
eagles.  One  of  these  "he  tossed  into  the  mother's 
lap  and  said:  'That  is  for  a  new  winter  cloak  for 
you;  let  us  give  the  other  as  a  thank-offering  at  the 
missionary  collection.'  The  mother  handed  back  the 
coin  and  said :  'Let  us  give  both  as  a  thank-offer- 
ing ;  /  zvill  turn  my  old  cloak.'  " 

Isabella  was  sent  to  the  district  school,  about  a 
mile  from  her  home,  when  she  was  quite  young,  but 
she  did  not  take  a  special  interest  in  her  work.  In 
later  years  she  said  that  she  had  not  really  awakened 
intellectually  until  she  was  sixteen  years  of  age. 
When  she  was  ten  she  narrowly  escaped  death  from 
a  savage  attack  of  a  big  dog,  which  a  grown-up 
brother  beat  off  with  a  spade,  but  not  before  it  had 
fearfully  lacerated  her  arm.  At  fifteen  she  entered 
the  Wheeling  Female  Seminary,  West  Virginia. 
She  often  lamented  later  the  time  she  had  wasted, 


142  Servants  of  the  King 

as  she  thought,  in  these  years  on  music,  for  which 
she  had  no  taste.  After  leaving  the  seminary  she 
taught  a  summer  school  and  met  with  success  from 
the  beginning.  Dissatisfied  with  her  preparation, 
she  returned  to  the  Wheeling  seminary,  added  a 
year  of  art-study  in  the  Cincinnati  Academy  of  De- 
sign, and  then  returned  to  teaching.  In  March, 
1859,  her  brother,  who  wrote  her  the  letter  with  the 
vulture's  quill  in  1866,  and  who  afterward  became 
Bishop  Thoburn,  w^ent  to  India  as  a  missionary. 

The  seven  years  after  her  brother's  going,  before 
his  letter  to  her  from  Rohilkhand,  were  spent  in 
teaching,  in  caring  for  her  invalid  and  widowed 
sister-in-law  and  her  three  little  boys,  and  in  a  gen- 
eral preparation  for  the  great  work  before  her,  of 
which  as  yet  she  did  not  know.  In  1869,  however, 
the  official  call  came,  and  the  way,  for  which 
in  1866  she  wrote  that  she  must  wait,  was  opened. 
She  and  Miss  Clara  A.  Swain,  M.D.,  were  appointed 
the  first  missionaries  of  the  newly  established  Wom- 
an's Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  They  sailed  from  New  York 
in  the  fall  of  1869  in  the  steamer  Nevada  and  ar- 
rived in  Bombay  January  7,  1870.  They  were 
just  in  time  for  the  annual  conference  of  the 
Methodist  missionaries.  Miss  Swain  was  assigned 
to  Bareilly  to  begin  the  first  medical  missionary 
work  for  women  by  women  in  India,  and  Miss  Tho- 


Isabella  Thoburn  143 

burn  was  stationed  at  Lucknow,  which  was  to  be  her 
home  and  the  seat  of  her  greatest  work.  She  saw 
at  once  the  bright  side  of  the  new  conditions  of  life, 
and  she  never  wrote  and  seldom  spoke  of  the  dis- 
comforts or  "trials"  of  missionary  work  in  India. 

She  set  herself  at  once,  in  her  quiet,  direct,  positive 
way,  to  build  up  her  girls'  school  for  the  training 
especially  of  Christian  girls  to  make  them  capable 
of  helping  and  teaching  others.  The  converts  were 
few  and  most  of  them  poor.  Some  people  doubted 
whether  the  time  had  come  for  Miss  Thoburn's 
scheme,  but  she  resolutely  began  with  six  girls  on 
the  morning  of  April  18,  1870.  Two  of  the  six 
were  Eurasians — half  European,  half  Asiatic — for 
the  great  revival  due  to  William  Taylor's  visit  to 
India  greatly  enlarged  the  field  of  work  among  this 
class.  Very  soon  Miss  Thoburn  bought  one  of  the 
best  properties  in  the  city,  which  had  been  occupied 
by  an  opponent  of  her  plans,  and  had  in  this  place, 
known  as  Lai  Bagh,  or  Ruby  Garden,  an  ample  home 
and  place  for  her  work  for  all  her  life  in  India.  Six 
years  later  she  started  another  school  for  English 
girls  at  Cawnpur,  forty-five  miles  to  the  west  of 
Lucknow,  and  for  some  time  she  managed  both 
schools,  going  to  and  fro  by  night. 

After  ten  years  of  solid  and  faithful  work,  Miss 
Thoburn  came  home  on  furlough.  She  had  always 
shrunk  from  speaking  in  public,  but  in  Peabody, 


144  Servants  of  the  King 

Kansas,  she  was  invited  to  speak  in  a  Presbyterian 
church.  "In  her  earHer  years,"  writes  Bishop  Tho- 
burn,  "she  had  never  known  or  heard  of  such  a  thing 
as  a  woman  speaking  in  a  Presbyterian  church,  and 
now  she  was  confronted  by  a  request,  which  would 
brook  no  denial,  to  deliver  an  address  in  an  orthodox 
church  of  that  denomination.  She  could  not  refuse, 
and  yet  would  not  consent;  but  finally,  by  way  of 
compromise,  she  proposed  to  take  a  seat  in  front 
and  answer  any  questions  which  might  be  asked. 
'I  cannot  give  an  address,'  she  said,  'but  I  am  will- 
ing to  give  information  by  answering  questions,  and 
in  this  way  I  can  find  out  exactly  what  you  wish  to 
know.'  This  plan  was  followed,  with  the  result 
which  might  have  been  anticipated.  Question  fol- 
lowed question;  the  replies  became  somewhat 
lengthy,  and  before  very  long  it  seemed  necessary 
for  the  speaker  to  rise  from  her  chair  in  order  to 
be  better  heard  in  all  parts  of  the  church.  Thus  it 
came  to  pass  that  she  found  herself,  almost  before 
she  realized  it,  standing  in  a  Presbyterian  church 
and  delivering  an  address  to  an  audience  on  Sunday 
afternoon.  Before  the  meeting  closed  she  realized 
what  had  happened.  She  had  crossed  her  Rubicon, 
and  any  one  who  knew  her  would  have  known  that 
she  had  crossed  never  to  return.  She  accepted  the 
new  responsibility  cheerfully,  and  said  to  her  new 
friends:     Tf  there  is  anything  wrong  about  this, 


Isabella  Thoburn  145 

you  must  bear  me  witness  that  the  Presbyterians 
are  responsible  for  it.'  "  She  was  soon  in  demand 
everywhere,  and  ever  afterward  was  one  of  the  most 
acceptable  and  effective  of  missionary  speakers.  She 
was  never  pretentious  nor  excited,  but  always  ear- 
nest, calmly  intense,  and  so  direct  and  practical  that 
no  one  heard  her  without  feeling  the  power  of  her 
personality.  She  made  notable  addresses  at  great 
missionary  conferences  in  India,  and  at  the  Ecumen- 
ical Missionary  Conference  in  New  York  in  1900, 
and  those  who  heard  her  speak  will  never  forget  her 
quiet  but  overpowering  presentation  of  the  needs 
of  the  women  of  India. 

On  returning  to  India,  in  1882,  she  began  to 
develop  her  school  into  a  college,  and  did  not  rest 
until  it  became  the  highest-g;rade  institution  for 
Christian  women  in  India.  "In  America,"  she  said 
in  one  of  her  appeals,  "we  realize  the  importance  of 
placing  people  in  colleges  which  are  under  direct 
Christian  influence.  Much  more  is  it  important  in 
a  heathen  land,  where  new  thought  awakened  under 
secular  instruction  runs  toward  infidelity;  where  the 
doubts  and  speculations  of  all  the  ages  are  alive  and 
at  war  with  faith;  where  blind  belief  in  the  false 
makes  the  truth  a  stumbling-block ;  and  where  wom- 
en who  are  being  set  free  from  the  restraints  of  old 
customs  must  be  surrounded  by  restraints  of  prin- 
ciple, or  their  cause  is  lost,  and  with  it  the  hope  of 


146  Servants  of  the  King 

regeneration  for  their  people.  The  need  of  India 
to-day  is  a  leadership  from  among  her  own  people ; 
leadership,  not  of  impulsive  enthusiasm,  or  of  preju- 
dice, but  of  matured  judgment  and  conscientious 
conviction.  Part  of  our  work  as  missionaries  is  to 
educate  and  train  the  character  that  can  lead,  and 
it  is  to  accomplish  this  that  we  formed  our  first 
woman's  college  in  the  Eastern  world.  There  are 
over  one  hundred  colleges  in  India  for  young  men, 
but  only  one  for  young  women,  and  that  not  Chris- 
tian. Think  what  efforts  we  would  make  if  there 
were  only  one  college  for  women  in  America,  and, 
in  some  measure,  let  us  recognize  the  universal  sister- 
hood, and  make  like  efforts  for  the  women  of  India." 
Before  her  plans  were  all  carried  out,  failing 
health  sent  her  home  again  in  1886.  On  the  way 
home  she  read  The  Life  of  Robert  and  Mary  Moffat, 
the  great  missionaries  in  South  Africa  whose  daugh- 
ter married  David  Livingstone.  She  wrote  of  it : 
*Tn  the  light  of  their  zeal  and  unfailing  devotion,  of 
their  sacrifices — which  w^ere  worthy  the  name  indeed, 
though  they  did  not  call  them  so — of  their  faith  in 
the  face  of  difficulties  we  never  dream  of,  our  poor 
work  seems  scarcely  worthy  of  mention,  not  worthy 
to  be  compared  to  theirs.  The  book  is  a  simple 
record  of  real  life,  but  it  is  a  sacred  romance, 
though  the  principal  actors  never  dreamed  that 
they  were  uncommon  people  or  the  heroes  we  see 


Isabella  Thoburn  147 

them  to  be.  As  we  close  the  record  it  is  with  an  in- 
tense longing  for  the  true  martyr  spirit,  that  can,  not 
only  give  life  for  a  cause  or  a  truth,  but  can  do  more, 
can  give  living  service;  nor  counting  anything 
dear,  but  consecrating  all  and  maintaining  the  con- 
secration with  unfaltering  heroism,  an  intense  long- 
ing begins  to  be  felt  for  an  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  upon  the  Church,  by  which  her  sons  and 
daughters  will  be  anointed  with  power,  with  true 
heroism,  and  sent  abroad  over  all  the  dark  places  of 
the  earth.  We  count  the  missionaries  we  have  sent 
out,  the  dollars  we  have  given,  the  schools  we  have 
opened,  and  then  congratulate  ourselves  that  we 
have  done  well;  but,  dear  sisters,  in  the  great  day, 
the  'well  done,'  spoken  to  women  like  Mary  Moffat, 
will  put  to  shame  our  easy  service  and  show  us  what 
might  have  been  accomplished  if  we  had  'done  what 
we  could.'  " 

In  this  spirit  she  threw  herself  into  work  at 
home  so  long  as  she  was  kept  there.  She  became 
house  mother  of  the  New  Deaconess  Home  in 
Chicago,  then  organized  similar  work  in  Cincinnati, 
and  began  it  in  Boston,  always  showing  forth  every- 
where the  spirit  of  service,  which  she  believed  was 
the  fundamental  thing  in  Christianity,  and  which 
she  urged  upon  all  young  women  as  the  great  ideal 
of  life.  "The  call  comes  to-day,"  she  said,  "and 
would  that  all  who  sit  at  ease,  and  yet  long  for  the 


148  Servants  of  the  King 

heart's  rest  they  have  not ;  all  who  spend  upon  them- 
selves their  thought  and  strength ;  all  who  build  like 
the  insect  their  own  houses  of  clay  in  which  they 
can  only  perish — would  that  all  these  knew  the 
blessedness  of  service  to  every  creature  for  whom 
Christ  died,  whether  in  African  deserts  or  islands  of 
the  sea !  So  many  seek  places  where  others  crowd 
in  before  them,  while  there  is  room  for  all,  far  out 
and  far  down,  and  there  need  be  no  Christian  woman 
in  all  this  happy  land  who  cannot  find  a  place  in 
which  to  serve  our  common  Master  with  a  glad  and 
willing  heart." 

In  1890  she  returned  to  India  and  was  reappointed 
principal  of  the  Woman's  College  at  Lucknow.  She 
took  hold  again  with  her  wonted  wisdom  and  energy. 
"One  of  the  first  things  she  did  was  to  give  up  her 
own  cool  and  quiet  room  for  the  noisy  quarters  of 
the  matron  in  the  center  of  the  boarding-house,"  says 
a  former  pupil  who  was  there  at  the  time,  "while 
the  matron  was  allowed  to  occupy  a  room  at  one 
end  of  the  same  building,  and  to  continue  her  work 
as  usual.  We  can  now  understand  that  this  was  done 
to  check  a  certain  laxity  in  the  management  of  the 
girls,  without  offending  any  of  the  parties,  which  is 
often  the  case  in  other  schools  when  a  reform  is 
undertaken  by  a  new  lady  principal. 

"When  Miss  Thoburn  rang  the  rising-bell  with 
her  own  hands,  the  girls  did  not  find  it  hard  to 


Isabella  Thoburn  149 

rise  early;  when  she  made  her  own  bed  and  dusted 
the  things  in  her  room,  the  girls  felt  that  their 
special  duty  was  even  to  sweep  their  rooms  and 
keep  them  neat  and  tidy;  when  she  wrote  her  busi- 
ness letters,  it  was  the  most  natural  thing  for 
everybody  to  be  quiet,  and  also  during  the  rest- 
hour,  and  so  on.  The  matron,  too,  received  much 
help.  The  storeroom  was  kept  in  good  order, 
and  the  meals  of  the  girls  were  properly  attended 
to,  because  she  went  into  the  kitchen  at  least 
once  a  day  and  peeped  into  the  storeroom  every 
now  and  then;  the  sweepers  were  well  watched,  be- 
cause she  went  around  the  whole  place  to  see  if  it 
was  clean ;  the  sick  girls  were  nursed  with  much 
care  and  patience,  because  she  had  the  worst  cases 
in  her  own  room,  and  sat  up  nights  with  them — and 
so  on  through  the  whole  routine  of  duty.  And  even 
when  she  went  back  to  her  own  room  in  the  main 
building  after  several  months,  she  still  kept  most 
of  the  work  under  her  own  personal  supervision.  In 
the  school  building,  too,  there  was  much  skill  in  the 
methods  of  teaching  and  keeping  discipline,  because 
Miss  Thoburn  herself  taught  the  most  difficult  sub- 
jects, and  also  some  of  the  least  promising  classes. 
All  this  was  done  with  a  quiet  dignity  which  in- 
spired both  love  and  awe  in  all  around  her,  and 
grown-up  people  were  struck  with  the  wisdom  which 
guided  her  to  do  all  things  without  offending."  Miss 


150  Servants  of  the  King 

Thoburn  was  not  the  kind  to  talk  and  expect  others 
to  do.     She  led  others  to  do  by  herself  doing. 

Her  supreme  qualities  were  her  unboastful  but 
all-dominating  love  and  her  plain,  firm  sense  of  duty. 
"Every  missionary  candidate  should  learn  hy  heart, 
in  the  deepest  sense,"  she  wrote  to  young  women 
looking  forward  to  the  mission  field,  ''that  golden 
thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians."  She  liked 
the  deaconess  work  because  it  led  women  into  sim- 
ple, faithful  duty-doing  in  Christ's  service.  "Be- 
fore I  left  India  in  1886,"  she  wrote,  "I  had  become 
convinced  of  two  things  that  we  have  since  thought 
important  factors  in  our  deaconess  system  :  first,  that 
while  there  is  so  much  to  be  done  in  the  world  it  is 
impossible  to  accomplish  it  all,  or  the  large  part  of 
it,  by  salaried  work;  and,  next,  that  life  is  not  long 
enough,  nor  money  plentiful  enough,  to  spend  much 
of  either  on  the  clothes  we  wear."  Her  absolute 
unselfishness  and  sincerity  combined  with  her  tire- 
less energy  and  great  practical  wisdom  to  make  her 
a  master  missionary. 

The  equipment  and  development  of  the  college 
laid  heavy  burdens  on  her,  and  her  last  visit  home, 
in  1900,  was  to  raise  money  for  the  immediate  needs 
of  the  institution.  She  and  Miss  Lilavati  Singh,  one 
of  her  pupils,  met  with  complete  success  on  this 
errand.  The  object-lesson  of  her  work  in  India  seen 
in  Miss   Singh  was  itself  the  most  convincing  of 


Isabella  Thoburn  151 

arguments.  It  was  at  a  dinner  in  New  York  at  the 
time  of  the  Ecumenical  Conference,  after  Miss  Singh 
had  spoken,  that  ex-President  Harrison  rose,  with 
tears  on  his  cheeks,  and  said :  "If  I  had  ever  had 
a  million  dollars  and  had  spent  it  all  on  foreign 
missions  and  this  young  woman  were  the  only  re- 
sult, I  should  feel  amply  repaid  for  my  investment." 
And  the  crowning  evidence  of  the  reality  of  Miss 
Thoburn's  work  was  found  in  the  fact  that  all  the 
praise  Miss  Singh  received  did  not  in  the  least  spoil 
her  or  turn  her  head. 

Together  they  went  back  to  India,  in  May,  1900. 
On  the  way  Miss  Thoburn  began  to  feel  that  her 
work  was  done,  and  the  feeling  deepened  after  she 
reached  India.  In  a  little  more  than  two  months 
the  end,  which  she  knew  was  near,  came,  and  she 
died  of  cholera  in  Lucknow  on  September  ist.  The 
life  here  was  done,  but  it  had  achieved  its  victory. 
"Here  was  a  rich  and  powerful  government,"  said 
a  missionary  of  another  denomination,  "anxious  to 
promote  the  cause  of  female  education,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  Christian  woman  without  money,  pres- 
tige, or  other  resources,  on  the  other.  Both  had  the 
same  object  in  view  and  both  were  in  the  same  field, 
but  the  lone  missionary  worker  succeeded,  while  the 
powerful  government  met  with  comparative  failure. 
The  whole  case  is  simply  a  marvel.  It  is  a  picture 
worthy  of  the  most  serious  study."     What  was  the 


152  Servants  of  the  King 

secret?  Miss  Singh  found  it  in  one  of  Miss  Tho- 
burn's  favorite  Bible  verses :  "That  in  all  things 
he  might  have  the  preeminence."  "I  am  a  poor  crea- 
ture," Miss  Thoburn  wrote,  "yet  no  matter;  for  in 
Christ  I  can  work,  and  if  I  were  strong  and  wise 
I  could  do  nothing  without  him."  Whoever  has 
learned  that  lesson  has  gained  the  secret  of  strength 
and  wisdom.    Have  we  learned  it? 


JAMES  ROBERTSON 


«S3 


God  has  given  us  an  opportunity  which  we  dare  not  neglect. 

-^James  Robertson 


154 


■■■ 

■ 

HI  vi'v 

^H 

HI 

^^^^B           ^^^^^H 

^Km 

pi 

^^^pi^^^^^^TV^^H 

^IHi  1  iM 

cz:^  ^W-tC^l-t/^^-r^ 


IX 

JAMES  ROBERTSON 

SHE  was  a  little  woman,"  said  one  of  Christina 
Robertson's  daughters.  "There  was  nothing 
that  any  woman  could  do  that  she  could  not  do,  and 
when  it  was  done  it  needed  no  second  doing."  James 
Robertson  was  his  mother's  own  son.  He  was  born 
on  April  24,  1839,  in  the  little  village  of  Dull  in 
the  valley  of  the  Tay  in  Scotland.  He  was  an 
even-tempered  boy  and  self -controlled,  but,  as  his 
schoolmaster  said,  he  was  a  "terrible  fighter  when 
fighting  had  to  be  done."  Whatever  he  once  took 
a  grip  of  he  never  let  go.  When  he  was  sixteen  a 
problem  in  arithmetic  that  had  given  some  trouble 
in  the  college  at  Edinburgh  was  sent  down  to  the 
master  at  Dull.  "If  any  of  them  can  solve  it,"  said 
he,  "it  will  be  Robertson."  So  to  Robertson  he  gave 
it,  and  the  lad  "took  it  home  and  fell  upon  it." 
When  his  father  was  going  to  bed  that  night  he  said 
to  his  boy,  "Are  you  not  comin'  to  your  bed,  lad?" 
"Yes,  after  a  while,"  replied  the  boy,  hardly  look- 
ing up  from  his  slate.     But  when  next  morning  the 

155 


156  Servants  of  the  King 

father  came  in  to  light  the  fire,  James  rose  from  the 
spot  where  he  had  been  left  sitting  the  night  before^ 
with  the  solution  of  the  problem  in  his  hands. 

The  family  was  very  poor,  and  all  that  he  had 
James  Robertson's  father  lost  in  the  terrible  storm 
which  buried  Tayside  under  snow  in  1854  and  ruined 
many  a  small  sheep  farmer.  The  times  that  fol- 
lowed were  so  hard  that  the  family  decided  to  leave 
Scotland  and  try  their  fortune  in  Canada.  In  1855 
they  sailed  on  the  George  Roger  and  settled  in  East 
Oxford,  Ontario.  That  part  of  Ontario  was  then 
forest  wilderness,  and  the  family  spent  their  first 
summer  in  enlarging  the  clearing  on  their  farm. 
The  following  winter  James  and  his  brother  chopped 
cord-wood  and  hauled  it  to  the  neighboring  village 
of  Woodstock,  and  the  next  summer  worked  again 
on  the  farm,  but  for  a  few  weeks  he  walked  night 
and  morning  a  distance  of  six  miles  to  attend  school 
at  Woodstock.  He  tried  at  once  for  a  teacher's 
certificate,  which  he  secured,  and  got  a  country 
school  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  There  was  much 
whisky-drinking  in  those  days  and  James  became  a 
firm  and  zealous  advocate  of  total  abstinence.  He 
was  an  earnest  Christian  boy,  also  walking  to  and 
from  Woodstock  twice  each  Sunday  in  order  to  be 
present  at  both  morning  and  evening  services  and 
he  connected  himself  with  the  Chalmers  Church  in 
Woodstock. 


James  Robertson  157 

From  the  country  school  where  he  first  taught, 
Robertson  went  in  1859  to  a  larger  school  near 
Innerkip.  He  is  still  remembered  by  those  who  were 
his  pupils  there.  "He  was  afraid  of  nothing," 
writes  one  of  them,  "man,  beast,  or  devil.  There 
was  a  fractious  colt  on  the  farm  where  he  boarded 
which  none  of  us  dared  to  handle.  Robertson 
mastered  him  and  rendered  him  tractable."  "What 
seemed  to  others  impossible,"  said  another,  "that 
was  the  thing  that  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  him." 
Here  at  Innerkip  he  met  the  young  woman  whom 
he  married.  The  task  of  winning  her  was  not  easy, 
but  that  made  it  only  the  more  uplifting  to  him  and 
he  prevailed.  It  was  twelve  long  years,  however, 
before  they  could  be  married.  For  three  years  he 
taught  the  Innerkip  school  and  then  went  off  to  the 
University  of  Toronto.  His  clothes  were  not  of 
the  latest  fashion  and  he  was  a  sober  student,  but 
no  one  could  help  respecting  him.  As  one  student 
said  of  him,  "Though  he  wore  his  trousers  at  high- 
water  mark,  and  though  his  hats  were  wonderful  to 
behold  and  his  manners  abrupt  and  uncouth,  still 
'Jeemsie,'  as  he  was  dubbed  by  the  irreverent,  com- 
manded the  respect  of  the  giddiest  of  the  lot  for  his 
fine  heart  and  for  his  power  of  pungent  speech,  for 
he  would  fire  words  at  you  Hke  a  cannon-ball.  And 
for  the  ridicule  of  the  boys,  Jeemsie  cared  not  a 
tinker's  curse."     He  joined  the  University  Corps  of 


158  Servants  of  the  King 

the  Queen's  Own  Rifles  and  saw  some  fighting  when 
a  fellow  student  was  shot  down  beside  him  in  the 
Fenian  Raid  of  1866. 

After  his  university  course  he  went  to  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  the  opportunities  at  that  time 
in  the  States  being  better  than  in  Canada.  After 
two  years  at  Princeton  he  went  to  New  York  to 
Union  Seminary  to  finish  his  course  and  then  took 
charge  of  a  downtown  mission,  where  he  made  so 
great  a  success  that  the  committee  and  Dr.  John  Hall 
tried  to  persuade  him  to  stay  and  work  in  New 
York,  but  his  duty,  as  he  saw  it,  led  him  back  to  his 
own  adopted  country.  After  being  married,  Sep- 
tember 2^,  1869,  he  settled  for  five  years  in  Norwich, 
Ontario.  He  was  a  fine,  strong  preacher  and 
pastor,  and  what  was  more,  a  fine,  strong  man.  It 
is  related  how  on  a  Sabbath  evening,  after  he  had 
begun  his  service,  the  fire-bell  rang.  At  once  Mr. 
Robertson  dismissed  the  congregation,  for  fire  pro- 
tection there  was  none,  unless  such  as  could  be  pro- 
vided by  the  bucket-brigade.  It  was  discovered  that 
a  neighboring  hotel  was  on  fire.  Immediately  the 
minister  took  command  of  the  situation,  organized 
the  crowd,  and  by  dint  of  the  most  strenuous  exer- 
tions had  the  fire  suppressed.  In  gratitude  for  his 
services,  and  in  sympathy  with  his  exhausted  con- 
dition, the  hotel-keeper  brought  him  a  bottle  of 
brandy  with  which  to  refresh  himself.     "Never  will 


James  Robertson  159 

I  forget,"  writes  another  member  of  his  congrega- 
tion, "the  manner  in  which  he  seized  that  brandy 
bottle  by  the  neck,  swung  it  around  his  head,  and 
dashed  it  against  the  brick  wall,  exclaiming  as  he 
did  so,  'That's  a  fire  that  can  never  be  put  out,'  " 

Far  to  the  west  a  great  new  country  had  been 
opening  up.  At  first  it  was  thought  to  be  a  waste 
land,  but  in  1870  the  troops  returning  from  the 
suppression  of  the  Northwest  rebellion,  under  Louis 
Riel,  a  half-breed  Indian,  "the  officers  who  com- 
manded, the  politicians  and  shrewd  business  men 
who  followed  in  their  wake,  all  came  back  enthusias- 
tic immigration  agents."  Then  began  the  tidal 
waves  of  immigration  which  flooded  this  great 
Western  country  with  men  hungry  for  land.  And 
the  churches  came  in  after  them. 

They  did  not  come  as  fast  as  they  should  have 
come,  however,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  1873 
Robertson  responded  to  an  appeal  to  go  out  to  preach 
in  the  new  Knox  Church  in  Winnipeg,  the  raw  but 
growing  capital  of  the  province  of  Manitoba.  It  was 
a  long,  rough  winter  journey.  There  was  no  trans- 
continental railroad  in  Canada  and  Robertson  went 
out  by  way  of  Detroit,  Chicago,  and  St.  Paul.  From 
Breckenridge,  the  end  of  the  railway  from  St.  Paul, 
it  took  four  days  to  get  through  to  Winnipeg.  There 
he  found  a  long,  straggling  street  of  shacks  and 
stores,  huddled  on  the  bleak  prairie  around  the  big 


i6o  Servants  of  the  King 

stone  fort  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  a  great 
country  soon  to  be  filled  with  men,  and  also  a  divided 
church.  He  settled  down  to  his  task,  and  the  six 
months  lengthened  out  to  cover  the  rest  of  his  life. 
The  church  called  him  to  stay,  and  he  sent  for  his 
family  and  stayed. 

In  the  new  land  with  its  fierce  winters  he  had 
a  full  experience.  "Once  during  the  winter  of 
1877  he  went  to  Stony  Mountain  to  perform  a 
marriage  ceremony.  On  his  return  a  storm  came 
up  with  startling  suddenness.  The  sun  was  shin- 
ing brightly  and  there  was  no  appearance  of  a 
storm,  when  Mr.  Robertson  noticed  a  great  white 
cloud  like  snow  rolling  along  near  the  ground,  while 
the  sky  still  remained  clear.  In  another  instant  the 
storm  was  upon  him,  a  blizzard  so  blinding  that  the 
horse  stopped,  turned  round,  and  left  the  trail.  With 
a  great  deal  of  difficulty  he  got  the  horse  back  to 
the  road,  unhitched  it  from  the  cutter,  took  off  the 
harness  and  let  it  go,  then  set  off  himself  to  fight 
his  way  through  the  storm.  A  short  distance  from 
Kildonan  he  overtook  a  man  hauling  a  load  of  wood 
who  had  lost  his  way,  and  who  was  almost  insensible 
from  cold  and  fatigue.  He  turned  the  horses  loose 
and  took  the  man  with  him  to  a  house  in  Kildonan. 
After  half  an  hour's  rest  he  set  off  again  for  Winni- 
peg, for  he  had  left  his  wife  sick  in  bed  and  well 
knew  she  would  be  in  terror  for  him.     So  once  more 


James  Robertson  i6i 

he  faced  the  bHzzard,  and  after  two  hours'  struggle 
he  reached  his  home." 

In  1 88 1  he  left  the  pastorate  to  accept  the  newly 
created  post  of  superintendent  of  home  missions 
for  Manitoba  and  the  Northwest.  He  set  off  at 
once  on  his  first  missionary  tour,  driving  two  thou- 
sand miles,  at  first  through  heat  and  dust  and  rain 
and  then  through  frosts  and  blizzards.  He  preached 
where  he  could,  and  was  not  to  be  discouraged  by 
any  situation.  Once  coming  to  a  settlement  late  on 
a  Saturday  evening  where  the  largest  building  was 
the  hotel  and  the  largest  room  the  bar,  he  inquired 
of  the  hotel  man  : 

''Is  there  any  place  where  I  can  hold  a  service 
to-morrow  ?" 

"Service?" 

"Yes,  a  preaching  service." 

"Preaching?  Oh,  yes,  I'll  get  you  one,"  he  re- 
plied with  genial  heartiness. 

Next  day  Mr.  Robertson  came  into  the  bar,  which 
was  crowded  with  men. 

"Well,  have  you  found  a  room  for  my  service?" 
he  inquired  of  his  genial  host. 

"Here  you  are,  boss,  right  here.  Get  in  behind 
that  bar  and  here's  your  crowd.  Give  it  to  'em. 
God  knows  they  need  it." 

Mr.  Robertson  caught  the  wink  intended  for  the 
boys  only.     Behind  the  bar  were  bottles  and  kegs 


1 62  Servants  of  the  King 

and  other  implements  of  the  trade;  before  it  men 
standing  up  for  their  drinks,  chaffing,  laughing, 
swearing.  The  atmosphere  could  hardly  be  called 
congenial,  but  the  missionary  was  "onto  his  job," 
as  the  boys  afterwards  admiringly  said.  He  gave  out 
a  hymn.  Some  of  the  men  took  off  their  hats  and 
joined  in  the  singing,  one  or  two  whistling  an  ac- 
companiment. As  he  was  getting  into  his  sermon 
one  of  the  men,  evidently  the  smart  one  of  the  com- 
pany, broke  in : 

"Say,  boss,"  he  drawled,  "I  like  yer  nerve,  but 
I  don't  believe  yer  talk." 

"All  right,"  replied  Mr.  Robertson,  "give  me  a 
chance.  When  I  get  through  you  can  ask  any  ques- 
tions you  like.  If  I  can  I  will  answer  them,  if  I 
can't  I'll  do  my  best." 

The  reply  appealed  to  the  sense  of  fair  play  in  the 
crowd.  They  speedily  shut  up  their  companion  and 
told  the  missionary  to  "fire  ahead,"  which  he  did, 
and  to  such  good  purpose  that  when  he  had  finished 
there  was  no  one  ready  to  gibe  or  question.  After 
the  service  was  closed,  however,  one  of  them  ob- 
served earnestly : 

"I  believe  every  word  you  said,  sir.  I  haven't 
heard  anything  like  that  since  I  was  a  kid,  from  my 
Sunday-school  teacher.  I  guess  I  gave  her  a  pretty 
hard  time.     But  look  here,  can't  you  send  us  a  mis- 


James  Robertson  163 

slonary  for  ourselves?  We'll  chip  in,  won't  we, 
boys  ?" 

One  of  his  first  concerns  was  to  raise  a  Church 
and  Manse  Building  Fund.  So  well  did  he  work  at 
persuading  money  out  of  even  the  most  unsympa- 
thetic that,  when  he  laid  down  the  work  twenty 
years  later,  the  fund  had  assisted  in  the  erection  of 
419  churches,  90  manses,  and  4  schoolhouses,  and 
had  put  the  Church  in  possession  of  property  valued 
at  $603,835. 

The  railroad  had  crossed  the  Red  River  and 
entered  Winnipeg  in  1881,  and  thence  had  pressed 
steadily  westward.  The  inflowing  tide  of  immigra- 
tion had  taken  up  the  land  along  the  road  and  then 
pressed  outward  into  the  country  on  either  side. 
The  people  along  the  road  were  easily  accessible,  but 
Robertson  was  not  content  to  reach  these  alone. 
He  was  after  all,  and  he  went  everywhere  look- 
ing for  them.  And  he  took  what  experience  came 
in  the  way  of  his  duty.  Of  one  night,  typical 
of  many,  a  companion  wrote : 

"That  night  was  spent  in  'a  stopping-place,'  and 
Dr.  Robertson  and  I  roomed  together  in  a  small 
bedroom  off  the  sitting-room.  We  roomed  together, 
but  we  slept  not,  neither  did  we  lie  down  to  rest. 
A  hurried  inspection  revealed  the  fact  that  the  bed 
was  preempted  by  the  living  pest  which  a  man 
shakes  not  off,  as  in  the  morning  he  crawls  from 


164  Servants  of  the  King 

under  the  bedclothing.  We  determined  to  keep  the 
fire  in  the  sitting-room  going,  and  so  maintain  a 
degree  of  comfort  during  the  winter  night.  But 
some  parties,  by  making  a  bed  beside  the  sitting- 
room  stove,  spoiled  our  plan  and  imprisoned  us  in 
our  room  for  the  night.  We  walked  the  floor,  we 
jumped,  and,  if  not  very  artistically,  at  least  with 
some  vigor,  we  danced,  that  the  temperature  of  the 
body  might  be  maintained  at  a  considerably  higher 
degree  than  the  temperature  of  the  room.  The  night 
passed,  and  so  did  the  breakfast  hour,  and  we  started 
on  our  twelve-mile  drive." 

"To-night,"  he  wrote  himself  of  another  stopping- 
place,  "we  are  to  lodge  in  a  place  7x12  feet,  parti- 
tioned off  from  the  stable.  A  lot  of  hay  covers  the 
floor,  a  rusty  stove  is  standing  in  the  corner,  which, 
with  a  rickety  table,  constitute  the  furniture.  We 
found  a  lantern  which  will  answer  for  a  light.  The 
side  is  quite  airy,  the  boards  having  shrunk  a  good 
deal.  But  I  have  a  good  tuque,  or  nightcap,  and  I 
hope  to  keep  warm  enough.  I  have  two  buffalo-robes, 
two  pairs  of  blankets,  and  other  appliances  that  will 
likely  keep  me  comfortable.  Three  teams  besides  our 
own  drove  in  here  just  now,  and  are  going  to  remain 
all  night.  I  think  the  room  will  afford  sufficient 
accommodation  to  enable  us  to  lie  down.  To-mor- 
row we  expect  to  make  Humboldt  at  six." 

In  the  first  five  years  he    established    on    the 


R£>.  JAMES  ROBERTSON  D.D- 
[  (839  -  »302 

PasTOS  or  NORWICH   1859  -  1874 
FIRST  PASTOB  of  KNOX  CHURCH  .WINNIPEG 

IS74  —   18S1 

Sl«>ERtNTENOENT  OF  WtSTERN  MISSIONS 

ISBI   —  I90a 


. 'iS&iS^St"!!!^?^- . 


JAMES   ROBERTSOX'S   GRAVE   IN   THE   KIl.UOXAX    CHURCHYARD,   MAXITOHA 


James  Robertson  165 

average  one  preaching  station  a  week.  His  first 
report  showed  a  communicant  roll  of  1,355  for  all 
the  West ;  the  report  for  1887  showed  5.623.  When 
he  came  to  his  field  the  Presbytery  of  Manitoba  had 
knowledge  of  only  971  families.  In  a  single  year 
he  discovered  1,000  more  and  placed  these  formerly 
unknown  and  isolated  families  in  church  homes, 
and  during  the  five  years  he  discovered  and  set  in 
Church  relation  over  3,000  Presbyterian  families. 
When  he  took  into  his  hands  the  reins  of  superin- 
tendency,  he  found  in  all  the  West  some  fifteen 
churches.  Before  five  years  were  over  there  were 
nearly  100.  In  attaining  these  results,  he  wanted 
men  who  would  work  and  not  whine. 

"I  remember  him  telling  me,"  a  minister  relates, 
"of  a  student  whose  zeal  was  less  than  his  indolence. 
He  was  in  charge  of  a  mission  somewhere  near 
Regina,  and  lived  in  rooms  which  were  attached  to 
the  church.  Dr.  Robertson  drove  over  one  morning, 
knowing  that  he  was  due  to  preach  in  an  outlying 
station  ten  miles  away  at  eleven  o'clock. 

"I  knocked  at  the  outer  door  at  ten  o'clock,  sir, 
and  when  I  got  no  answer  I  concluded  that  he  had 
started  on  his  journey.  However,  I  opened  the  door 
and  walked  in.  I  went  upstairs  and  rapped  on  the 
door  of  his  bedroom.  I  heard  a  sleepy  voice  say, 
'Come  in,'  and  I  opened  the  door  and  found  him  yet 


1 66  Servants  of  the  King 

in  bed.  He  preached  that  morning  without  his 
breakfast,  sir." 

"Talking  with  a  whining  student  one  day,"  says 
another,  "who  was  relating  what  he  considered  hard- 
ships in  the  way  of  uncomfortable  beds  in  which 
there  were  crawling  things,  and  irregular  meals  not 
always  prepared  in  the  most  tasty  form,  the  super- 
intendent began  very  sympathetically  telling  some 
of  his  own  experiences.  Sleeping  one  night  in  a 
dugout,  wrapped  in  his  blanket  on  the  clay  floor, 
which  was  several  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  he  felt  cold,  clammy  things  on  his  back  and 
face.  He  would  brush  them  off  and  turn  over,  and 
by  the  time  he  was  getting  off  to  sleep  again  there 
would  be  another  visitation,  and  so  he  kept  brushing 
them  away  the  whole  night. 

"  'And  what  were  these  things  ?'  asked  the  won- 
dering student. 

"Well,  you  see  the  floor  was  two  feet  below  the 
ground.  The  ground  was  worn  away  several  inches 
lower  than  the  door,  and  the  lizards  would  fall  over 
the  edge  of  the  cutting  and  crawl  under  the  door,  and 
during  the  night  creep  over  the  floor.  And  these 
lizards  were  enjoying  a  warm  nest  on  my  neck  and 
face. 

"The  poor  student  stood  horrified.  The  superin- 
tendent enthused  for  a  few  moments  on  lice  and 
lizards  and  snakes,  as  though  encounters  therewith 


James  Robertson  167 

were  as  valuable  as  theology  in  a  true  missionary's 
education,  and  the  complaining  dude  subsided.  His 
hardships  vanished  into  thin  air." 

He  knew  how  to  handle  the  rough  elements  in 
the  new  far  Western  country.  After  a  meeting  in 
Rossland,  a  British  Columbia  mining  tov^^n  then  at 
the  height  of  its  boom,  one  rough  fellow  exclaimed 
of  him:  **Say,  ain't  he  a  corker?"  and  then  sol- 
emnly, after  due  thought,  "He's  a  Jim  Dandy 
corker." 

While  he  was  making  his  first  trip  through 
Alberta  and  was  soliciting  subscriptions  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  church  in  connection  with  one  of  his 
mission  stations,  he  came  upon  a  young  Scotchman 
who  rejected  his  appeal,  asserting  with  an  oath  that 
he  had  never  known  a  professing  Christian  "who 
wasn't  a  blank  hypocrite,  anyway." 

"Well,"  said  the  superintendent,  "I  am  sorry,  sir, 
that  you  had  such  a  poor  mother." 

"What  do  you  mean,  sir?"  was  the  angry  retort. 
"What  do  you  know  of  my  mother?" 

"Was  she  a  professing  Christian?" 

"She  was." 

"And  was  she  a  good  woman?" 

"She  was  that,  but,"  feeling  his  equivocal  position, 
"there  are  not  many  like  her." 

"We  want  to  make  Christians  like  your  mother  in 


1 68  Servants  of  the  King 

this  country,  and  that  is  why  we  are  building  this 
church." 

Before  the  interview  was  over  he  had  added  an- 
other name  to  his  subscription  hst. 

At  Fort  McLeod,  to  which  he  came  by  the  Leth- 
bridge  stage,  driven  by  the  stage  driver  Jake,  famous 
for  his  skill  as  a  driver  and  for  his  profanity,  he  was 
pinning  up  a  notice  of  a  service  to  be  held  on  Sun- 
day, the  day  following,  when  a  young  fellow  came 
in,  read  the  notice,  and  burst  into  cursing.  The 
superintendent  listened  quietly  till  he  had  finished, 
then  said  blandly : 

"Is  that  the  best  you  can  do  ?  You  ought  to  hear 
Jake.     You  go  to  Jake.     He'll  give  you  points." 

The  derisive  laughter  that  followed  completely 
quenched  the  crestfallen  young  man.  In  the  even- 
ing the  superintendent  came  upon  him  in  the  street, 
got  into  conversation  with  him,  found  he  was  of 
Presbyterian  extraction,  that  he  had  been  well 
brought  up,  but  in  that  wild  land  had  fallen  into 
evil  ways. 

"Come  now,"  said  the  superintendent,  "own  up; 
you  were  trying  to  bluff  me  this  afternoon,  weren't 
you?" 

"Well,  I  guess  so,"  was  the  shamefaced  reply. 
"But  you  held  over  me." 

"Now    look    here,"    replied    the    superintendent, 


James  Robertson  169 

"you  get  me  a  good  meeting  to-morrow  afternoon, 
and  we'll  call  it  square." 

The  young  man  promised,  and  the  next  day's 
meeting  proved  him  to  be  as  good  as  his  word. 

Dr.  Robertson  was  not  only  a  missionary  super- 
intendent. He  was  a  citizen  and  a  patriot.  He  took 
up  the  cause  of  the  Indians  and  secured  a  reform 
of  the  corrupt  agencies  which  were  preying  upon 
them.  He  helped  to  found  the  University  of  Mani- 
toba. He  was  for  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education  for  Manitoba,  and  he  was  an  ardent  advo- 
cate of  the  public  schools.  He  was  a  great  reader 
on  his  long  journeys.  His  general  knowledge  of  the 
Northwest  was  drawn  upon  by  both  the  government 
and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  His  judgment 
determined  the  location  of  one  of  the  railway's 
branch  lines. 

In  1896  he  visited  Scotland,  but  he  put  all  his 
time  and  strength  into  speaking  in  the  churches 
about  the  needs  of  Canada  and  into  the  solicitation  of 
funds.  He  came  back  with  nearly  $12,000  and  sup- 
port for  over  forty  missionaries.  The  next  year 
came  the  great  gold  rush  to  the  Yukon.  Ten  thou- 
sand men,  some  said  twenty,  with  the  rumseller,  the 
gambler,  and  all  the  human  birds  of  prey,  had 
poured  into  the  Klondike  before  a  single  missionary 
went  in.  Robertson  flung  himself  with  characteris- 
tic energy  into  the  work  of  providing  the  men  and 


1 70  Servants  of  the  King 

the  money  to  meet  this  great  need.  But  the  strain 
was  too  great.  He  had  gone  ill  to  Scotland  and 
he  came  home  ill.  Unknown  to  him  a  dangerous 
disease  had  fastened  upon  him.  He  kept  going  by 
force  of  will,  but  he  could  not  live  on  his  will 
permanently,  and  in  1897  the  break  came  and  he 
went  back  at  last  to  his  family  from  whom  he  had 
long  been  separated  by  his  far  journeys.  It  was 
the  first  Christmas  in  sixteen  years  that  he  had  spent 
with  them.  He  was  soon  better,  and  the  next  sum- 
mer was  back  at  his  work  again  as  hard  as  ever,  but 
he  could  not  stand  it  long,  and  in  1900  he  and  his 
wife  went  off  together  to  Scotland  and  then  to  the 
Continent.  He  seized  all  opportunities  for  raising 
money  for  the  Canadian  work,  and  came  back  in 
1 90 1  with  42  men  promised  and  over  $10,000  for 
the  work.  He  took  up  his  task  again  with  his  old 
energy.  He  had  a  fearful  fall  in  November  which 
would  have  disabled  any  common  man,  but  not 
Robertson.     He  kept  every  engagement. 

"I  shall  never  forget  his  appearance,"  writes  the 
Rev.  John  Neil,  ''when  he  came  into  the  vestry  be- 
fore service.  He  had  a  bandage  over  one  eye,  and 
his  appearance  indicated  that  he  had  been  passing 
through  some  trying  experiences.  He  said,  'Dr. 
Warden  insisted  upon  my  not  coming  this  mornmg, 
but  when  I  make  an  engagement  I  am  always  deter- 


James  Robertson  17 1 

mined,  if  possible,  to  carry  it  out.  I  hope  your  con- 
gregation will  not  resent  my  coming  in  this  form.'  " 

He  succeeded  so  well  in  his  appeal  that  he  wrote : 
"I  am  going  to  disable  the  other  shoulder  and  get 
my  other  eye  blackened." 

The  end  was  very  near  now.  The  last  Sunday 
of  the  year  1901  he  kept  for  his  home;  and  from 
his  home,  on  January  4,  1902,  he  passed  on  to  the 
higher  service.  "I  am  done  out,"  he  said  to  his 
wife  as  he  sank  to  sleep.  So  he  went  forward,  the 
"man  of  heroic  mold,  but  of  tenderest  heart.  Char- 
itable in  his  judgments  of  men,  generous  and  sym- 
pathetic in  his  dealings  with  them,  he  was  himself 
a  living  embodiment  of  that  gospel  which  he 
preached  as  the  only  hope  for  the  individual  or 
the  nation." 


JOHN    COLERIDGE    PATTESON 


173 


How  I  think  of  those  islands !  .  .  .  Hundreds  of  people 
are  crowding  upon  them,  naked,  armed,  with  uncouth  cries  and 
gestures.  .  .  .  But  they  are  all  my  children  now.  May 
God  enable  me  to  do  my  duty  by  them. 

— John  Coleridge  Patteson 


174 


X 

JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON 

SIXTY-FOUR  years  ago,  at  the  annual  dinner 
given  by  the  cricket  eleven  to  the  eight  of  the 
boats  at  Eton,  when  one  of  the  boys,  in  accordance 
with  a  custom  which  had  arisen,  began  to  sing  an 
objectionable  song,  another  boy  called  out,  "If  that 
does  not  stop,  I  shall  leave  the  room !"  The  singing 
went  on,  so  the  boy  who  had  protested  rose  and  went 
out  with  a  few  other  lads  as  fearless  and  high- 
minded  as  he  was.  That  boy  was  Coleridge  Patte- 
son,  and,  not  content  with  what  he  had  done,  he  sent 
word  to  the  captain  that  unless  an  apology  was  made 
he  should  leave  the  eleven.  That  would  have  been 
no  small  sacrifice  to  him,  and  it  would  have  been 
a  very  serious  loss  to  the  eleven.  Partly  for  that 
reason,  and  partly  because  the  manly  feelings  of  the 
better  boys  prevailed,  the  apology  was  made  and  the 
best  cricketer  in  the  school  kept  his  place. 

The  boy  had  grown  to  such  power  and  strength 
as  this  in  a  true  Christian  home  under  the  influence 
of  the  best  of  mothers  and  fathers.    His  father,  Sir 

175 


176  Servants  of  the  King 

John  Patteson,  was  one  of  the  ablest  judges  in  Eng- 
land, and  there  was  the  most  open  and  intimate  affec- 
tion between  him  and  his  son.  In  New  Zealand,  the 
wife  of  the  Chief  Justice  wrote:  "He  used  to  walk 
beside  my  pony  and  tell  me  about  'his  dear  father' — 
how  lovingly  his  voice  used  to  linger  over  those 
words.  ...  I  remember  his  bright  look  the  first 
day  it  became  certain  that  we  must  visit  England. 
'Why,  then  you  will  see  my  dear  father  and  tell  him 
all  about  me.'  " 

The  boy  who  had  such  a  father  and  loved  him  so 
was  sure  not  to  be  unlike  him.  His  mother,  as 
Coley's  uncle  wrote,  was  "of  the  most  affectionate, 
loving  disposition,  without  a  grain  of  selfishness,  and 
of  the  stoutest  adherence  to  principle  and  duty.  .  .  . 
What  she  felt  was  right  she  insisted  on,  at  whatever 
pain  to  herself." 

Coleridge  Patteson  was  born  in  London  on  April 
I,  1827.  The  poet  Coleridge  was  his  great-uncle. 
He  was  a  warmly  affectionate  but  fiery-tempered 
little  boy,  troublesome  and  dogged,  but  reverent, 
simple-natured,  and,  under  the  loving  discipline  of 
home  and  school,  coming  slowly  into  form  as  a  stead- 
fast, self-controlled,  unselfish  lad  of  the  highest 
honor  and  the  most  unswerving  strength  of  char- 
acter. He  learned  to  read  when  he  was  five,  and  got 
his  first  Bible  on  his  seventh  birthday.  From  the 
beginning  of  his  boyish  purpose  he  thought  he  would 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  177 

be  a  clergyman.  His  first  school  was  Ottery  St. 
Mary,  in  Devonshire,  of  which  his  great-grandfather 
and  great-uncle  had  both  been  head  masters.  Thither 
he  was  sent  at  the  age  of  nine,  and  at  the  age  of 
eleven  to  Eton,'  where  he  lived  with  his  uncle,  one 
of  the  most  popular  and  successful  Eton  masters. 
While  he  was  home  on  a  vacation,  the  Bishop  of 
New  Zealand,  Bishop  Selwyn,  who  had  just  been 
made  Bishop,  visited  his  father  and  preached  in  a 
neighboring  church.  The  sermon  deeply  influenced 
the  little  boy,  and  when  the  Bishop  left  he  said,  half 
in  earnest,  half  in  playfulness,  "Lady  Patteson,  will 
you  give  me  Coley  ?"  Years  after  he  went  with  the 
Bishop,  but  the  mother  who  would  have  given  him 
died  before  he  had  left  Eton.  He  threw  himself 
into  the  life  of  the  school,  and  never  loved  any  place 
more  than  he  loved  Eton.  In  a  great  schoolboy  wel- 
come to  Queen  Victoria,  then  only  nineteen,  he  was 
nearly  run  over  by  her  carriage,  and  was  only  saved 
by  the  young  Queen's  presence  of  mind  in  reaching 
out  and  giving  him  her  hand  until  he  regained  his 
feet. 

Another  time,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  came  and 
was  separated  from  his  company  and  hustled  in  the 
crowd  until,  as  the  enthusiastic  boy  says  :  "1  was  the 
first  to  perceive  him,  and  springing  forward,  pushed 
back  the  fellows  on  each  side,  who  did  not  know 
whom  they  were  tumbling  against,  and,  taking  off 


178  Servants  of  the  King 

my  hat,  cheered  with  might  and  main.  The  crowd, 
hearing  the  cheer,  turned  round,  and  then  there 
was  the  most  glorious  sight  I  ever  saw.  The  whole 
school  encircled  the  Duke,  who  stood  entirely  alone 
in  the  middle  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  I  rather 
think  we  did  cheer  him.  At  last,  giving  about  one 
touch  to  his  hat,  he  began  to  move  on,  saying,  'Get 
on,  boys,  get  on.'  I  never  saw  such  enthusiasm 
here ;  the  masters  rushed  into  the  crowd  round  him, 
waving  their  caps  and  shouting  like  any  of  us.  As 
for  myself,  I  was  half-mad  and  roared  myself 
hoarse  in  about  five  minutes." 

He  was  not  one  of  the  best  students  in  Eton.  He 
had  done  well,  but  he  was  slow  in  coming  to  his  full 
powers.  Even  at  Oxford,  although  a  good  student, 
the  hidden  fire  had  scarcely  burned  out  into  light, 
"For  it  was  character,"  wrote  one  of  his 
friends,  "more  than  special  ability  which  marked 
him  out  from  others  and  made  him,  wher- 
ever he  was,  whether  in  cricket,  in  which  he 
excelled,  or  in  graver  things,  a  center  round  which 
others  gathered.  The  impression  he  left  on  me  was 
of  quiet,  gentle  strength  and  entire  purity,  a  heart 
that  loved  all  things  true  and  honest  and  pure,  and 
that  would  always  be  found  on  the  side  of  these.  We 
did  not  know,  probably  he  did  not  know  himself,  the 
fire  of  devotion  that  lay  within  him,  but  that  was 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  179 

soon  to  kindle  and  make  him  what  he  afterward 
became." 

Coleridge  Patteson  awoke,  intellectually,  when  he 
went  to  Germany  to  study  in  1852.  There  he  dis- 
covered and  developed  his  remarkable  gift  for  lan- 
guages. He  spoke  German  fluently  and  wrote  it  cor- 
rectly, and  he  studied  Hebrew  and  Arabic  and 
Syriac.  His  boyish  distaste  for  mental  exertion 
passed  away,  and  the  individuality  and  originality 
of  his  mind  appeared.  When  he  returned  v  from 
Dresden  to  Oxford  "he  had  become  quite  another 
person,"  said  Mr.  Roundell.  "The  moral  and  spir- 
itual power  of  the  man  were  all  alive."  The  deeper, 
inner  life  was  coming  to  maturity.  "I  believe  it  to 
be  a  good  thing,"  he  wrote  to  his  sister,  "to  break 
off  any  work  once  or  twice  a  day  in  the  middle  of 
any  reading,  for  meditating  a  little  while  and  for 
prayer."  He  was  somewhat  conscious  of  himself, 
as  most  earnest  young  men  are,  and  he  examined  his 
own  feelings,  but  not  more  than  all  devoted  men 
must,  and  he  soon  moved  out  into  an  active  life  of 
unselfish  service. 

He  left  Oxford  in  1853  to  work  at  Alfington  in 
the  parish  of  Ottery  St.  Mary.  There,  among  the 
poor  and  the  rich,  for  the  children  of  wretched 
homes  and  among  the  people  of  his  own  class,  he 
wrought  in  tireless  and  simple-hearted  love.  He 
opened  a  Boys'  Home  for  the  lads  from  the  profli- 


i8o  Servants  of  the  King 

gate  families,  and  he  visited  and  preached  as  one 
who  would  save  souls.  This  same  year  he  was  or- 
dained, and  the  parish  opened  its  heart  to  him  in 
return  for  his  loving  and  unresting  work.  But  God 
meant  him  for  larger  things,  and  the  next  year 
Bishop  Sehvyn  came  back  for  the  gift  he  had  asked 
of  Lady  Patteson  thirteen  years  before.  It  was  no 
struggle  to  Coley,  except  to  ask  his  father  to  give 
him  up,  but  Sir  John  faced  it  like  the  true  servant 
of  Christ  he  was.  As  a  Christian  judge  he  weighed 
the  arguments  for  and  against,  dwelt  on  all  that  his 
son  was  to  him,  and  added  to  the  Bishop :  "But 
there,  what  right  have  I  to  stand  in  his  way?  How 
do  I  know  that  I  may  live  another  year?"  And  as 
the  conversation  ended,  "Mind!"  he  said,  "I  give 
him  wholly,  not  with  any  thought  of  seeing  him 
again.  I  will  not  have  him  thinking  he  must  come 
home  again  to  see  me." 

With  his  father's  blessing,  he  sailed  for  New 
Zealand  with  the  Bishop  on  March  28,  1855,  reach- 
ing Auckland  on  July  5.  He  was  soon  talking  to 
the  Maoris,  as  the  New  Zealand  natives  are  called, 
in  their  own  language,  and  entering  in  his  whole- 
some, complete-hearted  way  into  the  work,  realizing 
deeply  how  much  depended  on  right  beginnings  for 
him  and  for  those  whom  he  had  come  to  help.  He 
took  his  part  in  the  work  of  the  college,  where  the 
Bishop  had  in  training  young  men  for  teachers  and 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  18 1 

clergymen.  "I  clean,  of  course,"  he  wrote,  "my 
room  in  part,  make  my  bed,  help  to  clear  away  things 
after  meals,  etc.,  and  am  quite  accustomed  to  do 
without  servants  for  anything  but  cooking." 

But  he  learned  to  cook,  too.  "I  hope  you  are  well 
suited  with  a  housekeeper,"  he  wrote  home.  "If  I 
were  at  home  I  could  fearlessly  advertise  for  such  a 
situation.  I  have  passed  through  the  preliminary 
steps  of  housemaid  and  scullery  maid,  and  now,  hav- 
ing taken  to  serving  out  stores,  am  quite  qualified  for 
the  post,  especially  after  my  last  performance  of 
making  bread,  and  even  a  cake." 

He  learned  much  more  than  this.  He  soon  be- 
came an  expert  sailor,  able  to  handle  the  little  mis- 
sion schooner  on  which,  in  1856,  he  went  off  on  his 
first  long  trip  with  the  Bishop  to  the  New  Hebrides 
Islands,  visiting  Aneityum,  where  John  G.  Paton 
soon  came  to  work,  and  many  other  islands.  "After 
nearly  seventeen  weeks  at  sea,"  he  wrote,  "we  re- 
turned safely  on  Sunday  morning,  the  15th,  with 
thirty-three  Melanesians,  gathered  from  nine  islands 
and  speaking  eight  languages.  Plenty  of  work  for 
me ;  I  can  teach  tolerably  in  three,  and  have  a  smat- 
tering of  one  or  two  more.  .  .  .  We  visited 
sixty-six  islands  and  landed  eighty-one  times,  wad- 
ing, swimming,  etc. ;  all  most  friendly  and  delight- 
ful ;  only  two  arrows  shot  at  us,  and  only  one  went 
near — so  much  for  savages.    I  wonder  what  people 


1 82  Servants  of  the  King 

ought  to  call  sandalwood  traders  and  slave  masters 
if  they  call  my  Melanesians  savages." 

The  plan  was  to  prepare  these  boys  in  the  college 
at  Auckland  and  send  them  back  to  work  among 
their  own  people.  Year  by  year  he  taught  them  and 
sent  them  back,  and  went  to  and  fro  among  the 
islands,  often  in  danger,  but  never  afraid,  and  ever 
more  and  more  trusted  and  loved. 

In  1 86 1  Patteson  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  the 
Melanesian  Islands,  Bishop  Selwyn  having  long  felt 
that  the  work  ought  to  be  provided  for  in  this  way. 
His  consecration  did  not  stiffen  Coleridge  Patteson's 
methods  of  loving  and  simple  dealing  with  his  peo- 
ple. "As  for  my  life-work,"  he  wrote  home,  "it  will 
be  precisely  the  same  in  all  respects,  my  external  life 
altered  only  to  the  extent  of  my  wearing  a  broader- 
brimmed  and  lower-crowned  hat.  Dear  Joan  is  in- 
vesting moneys  in  cutaway  coats,  buckles  without 
end,  and  no  doubt  knee-breeches  and  what  she  calls 
'gambroons'  (whereof  I  have  no  cognizance),  none 
of  which  will  be  worn  more  than  (say)  four  or  five 
times  in  the  year.  Gambroons  and  aprons  and  lawn 
sleeves  won't  go  a-voyaging,  depend  upon  it."  What 
he  wore  for  his  work  he  had  written  in  an  earlier 
letter : 

"I  eschewed  shoes  and  socks,  rather  liking  to  be 
paddling  about  all  day,  when  not  going  on  shore  or 
otherwise  employed,  which,  of  course,  made  up  eight 


^^/y^      '•^^^        '^'^       ^^<;^»S^  /t^^ZU^    ^tt,JU<U*-*'^'<^  **'7t^    ec 

FACSIMILE  OF  A  LETTER  WRITTEN  BY  BISHOP  PATTESON  FROM  MELANESIA 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  183 

or  ten  hours  of  the  thirteen  hours  of  daylight.  When 
I  went  ashore  (which  I  did  whenever  the  boat 
went),  then  I  put  on  my  shoes,  and  always  swam  in 
them,  for  the  coral  would  cut  my  feet  to  pieces. 
Usual  swimming  and  wading  attire:  flannel  shirt, 
dark  gray  trousers,  cap  or  straw  hat,  shoes,  basket 
around  my  neck  with  fish-hooks,  or  perhaps  an  adz 
or  two  in  my  hand.  I  enjoyed  the  tropical  climate 
very  much — really  warm  always  in  the  water  or  out 
of  it.  On  the  reefs,  when  I  waded  in  shallow  water, 
the  heat  of  it  was  literally  unpleasant,  more  than  a 
tepid  bath." 

But  whatever  the  dress,  the  true  heart  beat  be- 
neath, and  the  hearts  of  the  Melanesians  answered 
to  it. 

The  ten  years  of  his  bishopric  were  spent  in  cease- 
less work  for  the  Melanesian  islanders.  The  New 
Zealand  climate  was  not  good  for  his  boys,  many  of 
them  dying  there,  and  after  considering  and  reject- 
ing Curtis  Island,  near  Australia,  he  removed  his 
school  to  Norfolk  Island.  He  hardly  knew  how  the 
people  on  the  islands  would  welcome  him  after  their 
boys  died  in  his  school,  but  they  understood  and 
trusted  him.  When  he  went  to  Mota  after  one  of 
the  epidemics  in  the  school,  in  which  many  boys  had 
died,  he  wrote : 

"You  should  have  been  with  me  when,  as  I 
jumped  on  shore  at  Mota,  I  took  Paraskloi's  father 


184  Servants  of  the  King 

by  the  hand.  That  dear  lad  I  baptized  as  he  lay  in 
his  shroud  in  the  chapel,  when  the  whole  weight  of 
the  trial  seemed,  as  it  were,  by  a  sudden  revelation 
to  manifest  itself,  and  thoroughly  overwhelmed  and 
unnerved  me.  I  got  through  the  service  with  the 
tears  streaming  down  my  cheeks  and  my  voice  half 
choked.  He  was  his  father's  pride,  some  seventeen 
years  old.  A  girl  ready  chosen  for  his  wife.  'It  is 
all  well.  Bishop ;  he  died  well.  I  knew  j/ou  did  all 
you  could ;  it  is  all  well'  He  trembled  all  over,  and 
his  face  was  wet  with  tears ;  but  he  seemed  strangely 
drawn  to  us,  and  if  he  survives  this  present  epidemic 
his  son's  death  may  be  to  him  the  means  in  God's 
hands  of  an  eternal  life.  Most  touching,  is  it  not, 
this  entire  confidence?" 

He  loved  them  and  they  trusted  him.  It  was  this 
love  that  made  him  fearless  when  he  landed  on  their 
islands,  always  watchful  for  treachery,  but  always 
bold  and  fearless,  disarming  hostility  by  his  very  con- 
fidence. 

Their  savagery  and  uncleanness  he  strove  against, 
but  he  saw  the  real  worth  and  possibility  of  noble- 
ness in  them.  "The  Melanesians,"  he  said,  "laugh 
as  you  may  at  it,  are  naturally  gentlemanly  and 
courteous  and  well-bred.  I  never  saw  a  'gent'  in 
Melanesia,  though  not  a  few  downright  savages. 
I  vastly  prefer  the  savage." 

He  learned   their    languages,    so   that   he  could 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  185 

speak  to  them  more  clearly  and  forcefully  than  they 
could  speak  to  one  another.  He  spoke  a  score  of 
languages.  He  prepared  grammars  of  twenty-five 
or  more.  And  he  gave  himself  utterly  to  those  he 
had  come  to  reach.  He  never  returned  to  England, 
refusing  invitations  to  do  so,  partly  because  he  did 
not  want  to  be  lionized,  partly  because  he  was  at 
home  among  his  islanders  and  did  not  like  the  arti- 
ficial society  of  civilization.  He  had  put  in  his  life 
with  the  Melanesians,  and  he  would  not  take  it  out. 

In  1868,  after  thirteen  years'  work,  he  ordained 
the  first  native  clergyman,  George  Sarawia,  who  had 
been  his  pupil  for  nine  years,  and  he  could  see 
throughout  the  islands  some  real  evidences  of 
changed  lives,  as  well  as  of  changed  faith,  as  the  re- 
sult of  his  frequent  visits  and  of  the  work  of  the 
boys  and  girls  whom  he  had  trained  and  sent  back 
to  their  own  people.  On  the  Island  of  Mota  alone, 
on  his  last  voyage,  he  baptized  289  persons.  But 
he  would  not  be  overconfident.  "I  feel  satisfied  of 
their  earnestness,"  he  wrote,  "and  I  think  it  looks 
like  a  stable,  permanent  work.  Yet  I  need  not  tell 
you  how  my  old  text  is  ever  in  my  mind,  'Thine 
heart  shall  fear,  and  be  enlarged.'  " 

The  work  was  permanent,  but  his  part  in  it  was 
nearly  done.  In  1867  he  began  to  be  troubled  over 
the  trade  in  laborers.  Ships  began  to  go  about  am.ong 
the  islands,  carrying  off  men  to  work  on  the  plan- 


1 86  Servants  of  the  King 

tations  on  the  Fiji  Islands  in  Queensland.  At  first, 
and  in  the  hands  of  honest  sea-captains,  the  trade 
was  legitimate.  The  laborers  were  honorably  em- 
ployed. But  soon  it  became  a  matter  of  kidnapping, 
and  the  "snatch-snatch"  vessels,  as  the  natives  called 
them,  almost  depopulated  some  of  the  islands.  And 
what  was  worse,  other  ships,  for  the  sake  of  the  tor- 
toise-shell traffic,  would  connive  at  the  quarrels 
among  different  tribes  and  take  part  in  their  battles, 
so  that  they  came  to  be  called  the  "kill-kill"  ships. 
Sometimes,  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  people  be- 
fore some  vicious  treachery,  they  would  represent 
themselves  as  having  come  from  the  Bishop.  Pat- 
teson  did  all  that  he  could  to  stop  this  wicked  busi- 
ness, and  realized  that  it  was  making  great  trouble 
for  him.  How  could  he  hope  to  win  these  people  to 
a  Christian  life  when  his  own  countrymen  were  mur- 
dering and  kidnapping  all  around  him  and  some- 
times implicating  him  in  their  crimes? 

At  last  the  end  came,  as  he  feared.  He  was  about 
among  the  islands  and  came  to  Nukapu,  where,  on 
September  20,  1871,  he  went  ashore  with  two  of  the 
chiefs,  who  had  formerly  been  very  friendly  to  him. 
One  of  the  ship's  boats  went  in  with  him,  and  was 
floating  about,  with  the  native  canoes  around  it, 
when  suddenly,  without  warning,  a  man  stood  up 
in  one  of  them  and  calling  out,  "Have  you  any  like 
this  ?"  shot  off  one  of  the  yard-long  arrows,  and  his 


John  Coleridge  Patteson  187 

companions  in  the  other  two  canoes  began  shooting 
as  quickly  as  possible,  calling  out  as  they  aimed: 
"This  for  New  Zealand  man  !  This  for  Bauro  man ! 
This  for  Mota  man!"  The  boat  was  pulled  back 
rapidly  and  was  soon  out  of  range,  but  not  before 
three  out  of  the  four  had  been  struck.  The  crew  got 
back  to  the  ship,  but  the  Bishop  did  not  appear  on 
shore.  After  waiting,  the  men  manned  a  boat  and 
went  in  to  look  for  him.  As  they  drew  near  the 
shore  two  canoes  put  out  toward  them  and  one  put 
the  other  adrift.  In  it  they  found  the  Bishop's  body. 
He  had  been  killed  by  a  blow  on  the  skull  with  a 
club.  There  were  four  other  wounds,  and  on  his 
breast  was  a  branch  of  palm  with  five  knots  in  the 
long  leaves,  indicating  that  he  had  been  killed  in 
revenge  for  five  natives  who  had  been  stolen  from 
Nukapu.  A  sweet,  calm  smile  was  on  his  face.  The 
shepherd  had  laid  down  his  life  for  his  sheep. 

The  next  morning,  St.  Matthew's  Day,  they 
buried  him  in  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  on  which  for 
sixteen  years  he  had  made  his  home.  His  death 
called  attention  to  the  atrocities  of  the  labor  trade, 
but  they  went  on  for  years  afterward.  But  Cole- 
ridge Patteson's  life  went  on  also.  It  is  going  on  now 
in  every  land,  calling  men  to  be  true  and  fearless  as 
he  was.  And  it  will  never  die  in  the  South  Seas. 
Such  lives  never  end. 


ION    KEITH-FALCONER 


189 


While  vast  continents  are  shrouded  in  darkness,  and  hun- 
dreds of  millions  suffer  the  horrors  of  heathenism  or  of  Islam, 
the  burden  of  proof  lies  upon  you  to  show  that  the  circum- 
stances in  which  God  has  placed  you  were  meant  by  God  to 
keep  you  out  of  the  foreign  mission  field. 

— Ion  Keith-Falconer 


190 


JL^TJx.   y^e^^-K^i^i^^Tx^v^ 


XI 

ION  KEITH-FALCONER 

THERE  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-one  in  a  little  vil- 
lage In  Arabia  in  1887,  the  year  after  the  Stu- 
dent Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign  Missions  be- 
gan its  work  among  the  colleges  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  a  young  Scotchman  named  Ion  Keith- 
Falconer,  whose  life  and  death  made  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  the  students  of  that  day.  Perhaps 
that  was  due,  in  part,  to  his  noble  birth  and  ancestry. 
It  seemed  a  wonderful  thing  for  a  son  of  an  Earl, 
whose  fathers  had  been  among  the  great  men  of 
Scotland  for  eight  hundred  years,  to  go  off  and  die 
just  for  love  of  men  in  a  little  Arabian  village.  But 
perhaps  the  students  of  his  time  were  even  more  im- 
pressed at  his  going  because  he  was  such  a  great  ath- 
lete, for  he  was  the  fastest  bicycle  rider  in  the  world. 
Bicycles  then  were  just  coming  in,  and  they  were  the 
high  bicycles  which  boys  of  to-day  know  little  about. 
Keith-Falconer  was  big  and  tall,  six  feet  three  inches 
when  he  was  nineteen,  and  rode  a  very  high  wheel, 
so  high  that  when,  before  one  race,  the  step  broke, 

191 


192  Servants  of  the  King 

he  had  to  mount  with  a  chair.  And  he  had  one  mon- 
ster wheel  seven  feet  high,  which  he  called  "The 
Leviathan,"  and  on  which  he  made  a  fearsome  figure 
as  he  flew  over  the  country  roads. 

He  began  his  bicycle  riding  as  a  boy  at  Harrow, 
one  of  the  great  English  preparatory  schools,  as  we 
should  call  them,  and  when  he  got  to  Cambridge  he 
was  a  skilled  rider.  He  went  to  Cambridge  in  1874 
and  began  to  win  races  at  once.  The  next  May  he 
won  for  Cambridge  the  race  against  Oxford,  on  a 
fifty-mile  course,  and  in  1876  he  won  the  amateur 
championship  four-mile  race  at  Little  Bridge,  in 
what  was  the  fastest  time  on  record.  In  1877  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  London  Bicycle  Club, 
and  that  year  he  made  new  world's  amateur  records 
in  the  two-mile  and  ten-mile  races  with  Oxford.  In 
1878  he  competed  successfully  in  the  two-mile  race 
of  the  National  Cyclists'  Union  for  the  title  of  short- 
distance  champion,  and  the  same  year  he  beat  John 
Keen,  the  world's  professional  champion,  by  five 
yards  in  a  great  five-mile  race.  He  wrote  an  account 
of  this  race  to  his  friend,  Isaac  Pitman,  the  inventor 
of  shorthand,  who  had  been  urging  him  to  give  up 
smoking : 

"As  for  smoking,  I  think  that  the  following  will 
gratify  you.  Early  in  the  year  I  consented  to  meet 
John  Keen,  the  professional  champion  of  the  world. 


Ion  Keith-Falconer  193 

in  a  five-mile  race  on  our  ground  at  Cambridge,  on 
October  2^.  But  I  forgot  all  about  my  engagement 
till  I  was  accidentally  reminded  of  it  nine  days  be- 
fore it  was  to  come  off. 

"I  immediately  began  to  make  my  preparations 
and  to  train  hard.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  knock  off  smoking,  which  I  did;  next,  to  rise 
early  in  the  morning  and  breathe  the  fresh  air  be- 
fore breakfast,  which  I  did ;  next,  to  go  to  bed  not 
later  than  ten,  which  I  did ;  next,  to  eat  wholesome 
food,  and  not  too  much  meat  or  pastry,  which  I  did ; 
and  finally,  to  take  plenty  of  gentle  exercise  in  the 
open  air,  which  I  did. 

"What  was  the  result?  I  met  Keen  on  Wednes- 
day last,  the  23d  of  October,  and  amid  the  most 
deafening  applause,  or  rather  yells  of  delight,  this 
David  slew  the  great  Goliath ;  to  speak  in  plain  lan- 
guage, I  defeated  Keen  by  about  five  yards. 

"The  time  was  by  far  the  fastest  on  record. 

Mins.  Sees. 

The  1st  mile  was  done  in 2         59 

The  2d  mile  was  done  in 3  i 

The  3d  mile  was  done  in 3  7 

The  4th  mile  was  done  in 3  12 

The  5th  mile  was  done  in 2  52  2-5 

Total  time 15         1 1  2-5 


194  Servants  of  the  King 

"The  last  lap,  that  is,  the  last  circuit,  measuring 
440  yards,  we  did  in  39  seconds ;  that  is  more  than 
1 1  yards  per  second. 

"The  excitement  was  something  indescribable. 
Such  a  neck-and-neck  race  was  never  heard  of.  The 
pace  for  the  last  mile  was  terrific,  as  the  time  shows, 
and  when  it  was  over  I  felt  as  fit  and  comfortable  as 
ever  I  felt  in  my  life.  And  even  when  the  race  was 
going  on  I  thought  actually  that  we  were  going 
slowly  and  that  the  time  would  be  bad,  and  the  rea- 
son was  I  was  in  such  beautiful  condition.  I  did  not 
perspire  or  'blow'  from  beginning  to  end.  The  peo- 
ple here  are  enchanted  about  it ;  so  that  it  is  gratify- 
ing to  me  to  think  that,  notwithstanding  my  other 
work  and  other  business,  I  can  yet  beat,  with  posi- 
tive comfort  and  ease,  the  fastest  rider  in  the  world. 

'T  am  bound  to  say  that  smoking  is  bad — bad  for 
the  wind  and  general  condition." 

The  next  year  he  beat  John  Keen  again  by  three 
inches  in  a  two-mile  race,  where  he  made  a  new  rec- 
ord, and  three  days  later  he  made  a  new  world's 
record  in  a  twenty-mile  race.  He  was  always  in 
such  good  physical  condition  that  he  went  into  this 
race  from  a  four  days'  hard  examination,  without 
any  special  preparation,  and  simply  ran  away  from 
his  leading  competitor  in  the  last  lap.  His  last  great 
race  was  for  the  amateur  fifty-mile  championship, 
which  he  won  in  1882,  in  2  hours  43  minutes  and 


Ion  Keith-Falconer  195 

58  3-5  seconds,  seven  minutes  better  than  all  pre- 
vious records.  He  was  a  long-distance  rider,  also, 
riding  150  miles  in  one  day  between  dawn  and  dark 
— when  this  was  a  great  feat — from  Cambridge  to 
Bournemouth  to  see  his  family.  And,  what  was 
more  notable,  he  was  the  first  man  to  ride  from 
Land's  End  to  John  O'Groat's,  that  is,  from  the 
southwestern  corner  of  England  to  the  northeastern 
corner  of  Scotland.  And  he  did  it  in  thirteen  days. 
In  his  old  school  at  Harrow  they  hung  a  big  map 
on  the  wall,  and  followed  his  course  by  means  of 
postals  and  telegrams  which  he  sent,  marking  his 
victorious  course  with  a  little  red  flag.  He  was  a 
clean,  wholesome  student,  who  loved  sport  for  sport's 
sake,  and  who  found  in  his  great  competitor,  John 
Keen,  the  world's  professional  champion,  a  man 
after  his  own  soul,  who  was  above  prizes,  and  who 
delighted,  as  Keith-Falconer  did,  in  deeds  of 
strength  and  endurance  for  their  own  sake. 
*-  Many  a  man  would  be  satisfied  with  being  the  best 
bicycle  rider  in  the  world.  But  Keith-Falconer  was 
not.  There  were  other  things  in  life  besides  ath- 
letics. One  of  his  other  great  interests  was  short- 
hand. He  took  it  up  while  he  was  a  schoolboy  at 
Harrow,  learning  it  quite  unaided.  He  made  con- 
stant use  of  it  until  the  end  of  his  life.  For  years 
he  kept  up  a  correspondence  with  Mr.  Isaac  Pitman, 
the  inventor  of  phonography,   and  all   the  letters 


196  Servants  of  the  King 

written  to  Mr,  Pitman  were  in  shorthand.  Mr. 
Pitman  testifies  that  Keith-Falconer  "wrote  it 
swiftly  and  accurately,  and  had  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  minutest  part  of  the  system;  and  that 
not  merely  as  a  stenographer,  but  as  a  judge  of 
its  values  as  a  part  of  a  harmonious  whole."  He 
was  the  best  bicycle  rider  in  the  world.  He  would 
become  one  of  the  best  shorthand  writers.  And 
such  an  authority  did  he  become  that  when  he  was 
twenty-eight  years  of  age  he  wrote  the  article  on 
"Shorthand"  for  the  new  edition  of  the  Ency- 
clopadia  Britannica. 

"  But  Keith-Falconer  was  not  content  with  suprem- 
acy in  athletics  and  shorthand.  He  would  be  also  one 
of  the  best  Arabic  scholars  in  the  world.  He  had  al- 
ways been  a  good  student,  not  of  the  cut-and-dried 
kind,  studying  hard  only  what  was  set  before  him, 
but  choosing  for  himself  and  writing  out  the  things 
that  he  believed  to  be  permanently  worth  while. 
The  special  studies  which  he  took  up  at  Cambridge 
were  theological  and  Biblical,  and  he  soon  got  a 
solid  mastery  of  Hebrew.  When  he  was  twenty  he 
could  write  his  letters  in  it  readily,  and  he  was 
able  to  bend  the  old  language  and  its  scanty  vocabu- 
lary to  the  needs  of  every-day  English  thought. 
The  oldest  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament, 
the  Septuagint,  and  Syriac  he  mastered  also  and 
was  always  looking  for  hard  ppints.     To  a  friend 


Ion  Keith-Falconer  197 

he  wrote,  during  these  Cambridge  days,  "Send  me 
some  Septuagint  nuts  to  crack  if  I  can."  From 
these  things  he  went  on  to  Arabic,  going  to  Leipzig 
to  pursue  his  studies.  Coming  back  to  London  in 
188 1,  he  met  General  Gordon,  and  the  two  men  took 
at  once  to  each  other  and  Gordon  wrote  to  him  the 
same  month : 

"I  only  wish  I  could  put  you  into  something  that 
would  give  you  the  work  you  need,  namely,  secular 
and  religious  work,  running  side  by  side.  This  is 
the  proper  work  for  man  and  I  think  you  could 
find  it. 

"Would  you  go  to  Stamboul  as  extra  unpaid 
attache  to  Lord  Dufferin?  If  so,  why  not  try  it, 
or  else  as  private  secretary  to  Petersburg?  If  you 
will  not,  then  come  to  me  in  Syria  to  the  Her- 
mitage." 

But  God  had  an  even  greater  thing  for  the  Scotch- 
man, greater  in  God's  eyes,  and  Keith-Falconer  was 
seeking  it.  "Pray  constantly  for  me,"  he  wrote  to 
a  friend  shortly  after  receiving  General  Gordon's 
letter,  "especially  that  I  may  have  my  path  in  life 
more  clearly  marked  out  for  me,  or  (which  is  per- 
haps a  better  request)  that  I  may  be  led  along  the 
path  intended  for  me." 

So  he  worked  on  his  Arabic,  and  became  in  that, 
as  in  all  things  that  he  gave  himself  to,  a  leader 
and  authority.     In  reviewing  a  book  of  Keith-Fal- 


198  Servants  of  the  King 

coner's,  one  of  the  foremost  Oriental  scholars,  Pro- 
fessor Noldeke,  wrote  :  "We  will  look  forward  with 
hope  to  meet  the  young  Orientalist,  who  has  so  early 
stepped  forward  as  a  master."  He  was  then  twenty- 
nine,  and  the  next  year  was  elected  Lord  Almoner's 
Professor  of  Arabic  at  Cambridge  University,  to 
succeed  Professor  Robertson  Smith.  Surely  he 
could  now  be  content! 

"  But  from  his  earliest  childhood  deeper  purposes 
had  stirred  Keith-Falconer's  heart.  He  had  been 
born  a  Christian.  He  had  an  innate  truthfulness, 
and  from  his  first  years  was  unvaryingly  thoughtful 
of  others.  If  anything  was  to  be  shared  among  the 
brothers  and  sisters,  he  was  sure  to  say,  "Give  it  to 
others  first.  I  will  wait."  He  was  full  of  his  own 
resources,  generous  and  sincere,  with  the  most  ear- 
nest and  simple  Christian  faith.  When  he  was  seven 
he  had  his  own  clear  opinions  about  things,  and  went 
about  among  the  cottagers  on  his  father's  place  ex- 
plaining and  reading  the  Bible  to  them.  The  tutor 
who  came  to  guide  his  work  when  he  was  nine 
wrote : 

"  "During  the  many  walks  and  rambles  that  we  had 
together  he  would  often  say  to  me,  'I  wish  you  would 
talk  to  me,'  which  I  knew  meant  to  say,  Will  you 
speak  to  me  of  the  Savior  and  of  the  incidents  in  the 
life  of  the  Lord  Jesus?  ,  .  .  He  was  a  thoroughly 
conscientious  and  noble-hearted  boy." 


Ion  Keith- Falconer  199 

When  he  went  to  Harrow,  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
he  was  the  same  sort  of  boy.  The  master,  in  whose 
home  he  resided,  wrote  of  him : 
t.  "His  boyish  Hfe  was  noticeable  from  the  first  for 
marked  individuality  and  determination,  ...  It 
was  refreshing  to  meet  with  one  who  was  by  no 
means  disposed  to  swim  necessarily  with  the  stream, 
and  who,  though  in  no  wise  self-engrossed  or  un- 
sociable, would  not  flinch  for  a  moment  from  saying 
or  doing  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  at  the  risk  of 
incurring  unpopularity  or  being  charged  with  eccen- 
tricity. He  was  one  of  those  boys,  not  too  common, 
who  are  not  afraid  to  have  the  courage  of  their  opin- 
ions. Always  high-principled  and  religious,  he  never 
disguised  his  views.  I  remember  how,  when  almost 
head  of  my  house,  he  displayed  conspicuously  on 
the  wall  of  his  room  a  printed  roll  of  texts  from  the 
Bible — an  open  avowal  of  his  belief,  which  was  far 
less  common  and  more  noticeable  at  the  time  I  speak 
of  than  it  would  be  now.  Not  that  he  was  anything 
of  a  prig  or  a  Pharisee;  far  from  it.  He  was  an 
earnest,  simple-hearted,  devout,  Christian  boy." 

He  thought  things  out  for  himself  and  took  his 
own  line.  He  stopped,  accordingly,  whatever  prac- 
tises he  thought  were  not  the  highest  or  such  as 
could  not  be  shared  with  Christ,  and  for  Christ  he 
wanted  to  work  and  did  work.  '  He  stood  against  all 
dishonesty  and  for  all  cheery,  brotherly  helpfulness. 


200  Servants  of  the  King 

He  lived  nine  years  at  Cambridge  with  one  old  land- 
lady, who  declared  that  during  all  those  years  "his 
sole  aim  seemed  to  be  to  benefit  all  needing  help, 
friends  or  strangers."  He  worked  for  his  fellow 
students  in  his  straightforward,  manly  way  to  win 
them  to  Christ,  and  he  took  the  deepest  interest  in 
work  for  the  laboring  men  in  Barnwell,  a  suburb  of 
Cambridge,  full  of  squalor  and  vice,  and  then  in  a 
unique  mission  in  London  at  Mile  End.  In  both 
cases  buildings  were  provided  largely  through  his 
energy  and  zeal.  He  fought  drunkenness  and  vice 
with  the  same  joy  and  success  with  which  he  did 
other  things,  and  he  laid  hold  of  men  who  were 
down  with  a  brotherliness  which  encouraged  them 
to  believe  in  the  reality  of  the  help  of  Christ.  When 
he  was  gone,  a  poor  painter  whom  he  had  got  out 
of  prison  wrote : 

"He  told  me  if,  by  reason  of  the  frailty  which  is 
in  man  by  his  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  I  should  fall  into 
sin,  'Remember  sinking  Peter' ;  that  One  who  raised 
him  to  the  surface  of  the  water  can  give  me  strength 
to  get  up  again." 

What  more  could  Keith-Falconer  wish  for,  then .? 
He  knew  the  gladness  of  unselfishness,  and  surely 
could  not  do  more  than  go  forward  in  the  career  of 
usefulness  and  influence  which  seemed  to  lie  before 
him.  He  had  married,  in  1884,  the  daughter  of 
Mr.  R.  C.  L.  Bevan,  a  London  banker.     He  had 


f  PffilJP'  'i.l«.4..>!v«S*-! 


..C^. 


t^ 


KEITH-FALCOXER  S  HOME  IN  SCOTLAND 
RUINS  OF  HIS  HOME  IN  ARABIA 


Ion  Keith-Falconer  201 

made  his  home  in  Cambridge,  where  he  had  a  posi- 
tion as  lecturer  before  his  appointment  as  professor. 
He  had  money  and  friends.  Was  all  this  not  enough? 
No,  it  was  not  enough.  There  was  something  yet 
more  for  him  to  do.  The  gifts  God  had  given  him 
he  had  given  him  not  for  selfish  enjoyment  or  for 
partial  use,  but  in  order  that  they  might  be  used  to 
the  full.  He  had  never  been  the  sort  of  boy  or  man 
simply  to  follow  in  the  beaten  track.  He  was  ready 
for  the  big  and  courageous  thing.  What  was  the 
biggest  and  most  Christian  thing  he  could  do?  His 
knowledge  of  Arabic,  his  fearless  zeal,  his  tact  and 
judgment,  his  resources  of  many  kinds,  including 
the  money  which  enabled  him  to  support  the  mission 
himself,  marked  him  as  the  man  for  a  mission  which 
many  felt  should  be  undertaken  to  the  Mohamme- 
dans of  southern  Arabia.  The  evangelization  of  the 
Mohammedans  is  the  hardest  task  on  earth.  That 
was  the  kind  of  task  Keith-Falconer  wanted.  He 
did  not  believe  that  an  independent  mission  was  the 
best,  so  he  arranged  to  have  his  mission  connected 
with  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  That  the  work 
might  be  thoroughly  effective  he  studied  medicine, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  help  the  doctor  who  was  to  be  a 
part  of  the  mission.  To  plan  most  wisely,  he  went 
out  in  1885  on  a  visit  to  investigate  the  field  for  him- 
self, and  the  next  year  returned  with  his  wife  to 
settle  and  begin  the  work. 


202  Servants  of  the  King 

He  at  once  won  the  respect  and  friendship  of  those 
about  him,  threw  himself  with  all  his  characteristic 
energy  into  the  problem  of  the  mission,  set  to  work 
learning  some  more  languages  and  reading  books  by 
the  dozens  between  times,  came  down  with  fever, 
but  wrote,  "Read  Bonar's  Life  of  Judson,  and  you 
will  see  that  our  trials  are  naught,"  and  then,  after 
repeated  attacks  of  fever,  was  attacked  in  May  by 
a  sickness  from  which  he  did  not  rise  up.  "How  I 
wish,"  he  said,  "that  each  attack  of  fever  had 
brought  me  nearer  to  Christ — nearer,  nearer, 
nearer."  He  had  his  wish,  and  in  the  morning  of 
May  10,  1887,  he  "passed  over,"  as  Bunyan  says  of 
"Valiant-for-Truth,"  and  all  the  trumpets  sounded 
for  him  on  the  other  side. 

Some  people  get  enjoyment  from  nothing  but  nice 
and  orderly  comfort.  They  do  not  care  for  rough- 
ing it,  either  physically  or  otherwise.  Keith-Fal- 
coner liked  the  good  rough  work  of  life.  The  hard- 
ship of  the  mission — and  it  was  probably  from  the 
effects  of  living  in  a  poor  house  that  he  died — was 
nothing  to  him.  He  took  it  all,  without  thinking 
about  it,  as  a  matter  of  course.  Young  men  and 
women  shrink  from  the  missionary  work  because  of 
its  trials  or  its  uncertainties.  These  things  were  as 
trivial  to  him  as  they  are  to  the  soldier.  His  mind 
was  ever  upon  the  thing  to  be  done,  not  upon  any 
personal  hardships  of  his  own. 


Ion  Keith-Falconer  203 

And  he  did  not  hesitate  to  appeal  to  others  to  ask 
themselves  if  they  did  not  have  the  same  duty  which 
he  acknowledged  for  himself  toward  the  great  world. 
This  was  the  way  he  closed  his  last  address  to  large 
gatherings  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  on  the  eve  of 
his  going  forth : 

"In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  make  an  appeal.  There 
must  be  some  who  will  read  these  words,  or  who, 
having  the  cause  of  Chri'st  at  heart,  have  ample  in- 
dependent means  and  are  not  fettered  by  genuine 
home  ties.  Perhaps  you  are  content  with  giving  an- 
nual subscriptions  and  occasional  donations  and 
taking  a  weekly  class?  Why  not  give  yourselves, 
money,  time  and  all,  to  the  foreign  field?  Our  own 
country  is  bad  enough,  but  comparatively  many 
must,  and  do,  remain  to  work  at  home,  while  very 
few  are  in  a  position  to  go  abroad.  Yet  how  vast 
is  the  foreign  mission  field !  'The  field  is  the  world.' 
Ought  you  not  to  consider  seriously  what  your 
duty  is?  The  heathen  are  in  darkness  and  we  are 
asleep.  Perhaps  you  try  to  think  that  you  are  meant 
to  remain  at  home  and  induce  others  to  go.  By  sub- 
scribing money,  sitting  on  committees,  speaking  at 
meetings  and  praying  for  missions  you  will  be  doing 
the  most  you  can  to  spread  the  gospel  abroad.  Not 
so.  By  going  yourself  you  will  produce  a  tenfold 
more  powerful  effect.  You  can  give  and  pray  for 
missions  wherever  you  are ;  you  can  send  descriptive 


204  Servants  of  the  King 

letters  to  the  missionary  meetings,  which  will  be 
more  effective  than  second-hand  anecdotes  gathered 
by  you  from  others,  and  you  will  help  the  committees 
finely  by  sending  them  the  results  of  your  experi- 
ence. Then,  in  addition,  you  will  have  added  your 
own  personal  example  and  taken  your  share  of  the 
real  work.  We  have  a  great  and  imposing  war 
office,  but  a  very  small  army.  You  have  wealth 
snugly  vested  in  the  funds;  you  are  strong  and 
healthy;  you  are  at  liberty  to  live  where  you  like 
and  occupy  yourself  as  you  like.  While  vast  conti- 
nents are  shrouded  in  almost  utter  darkness,  and 
hundreds  of  millions  suffer  the  horrors  of  heathen- 
ism or  of  Islam,  the  burden  of  proof  lies  upon  you 
to  show  that  the  circumstances  in  which  God  has 
placed  you  were  meant  by  him  to  keep  you  out  of 
the  foreign  mission  field." 

Of  those  who  read  these  words,  are  there  none 
who  would  like  to  follow  in  the  train  of  the  athlete 
and  scholar  whose  body  lies  in  the  lonely  grave  by 
the  Gulf  of  Aden,  even  as  he  followed  in  the  train 
of  the  Son  of  God,  going  forth  to  war? 


INDEX 


ao5 


INDEX 


Adams,      Jefferson     County, 

New  York,  23 
Afghan  Moslem  soldiers,  48 
Africa,  6-16,  44-46,  Si-54 
Alfington,  England,   179 
Ambassador  for  Christ,  135 
"Americanized      Dutchman," 

n 

Angola,  52 

Arabia,  igi,  201,  202 

Arabic  language,  179,  196-198, 

201 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  32 
Audubon,  school  of  Miss,  64 
Austerity  unadvisable,  134 

Barbados,  West  Indies,  47 
Bareilly,  India,  142 
Barnwell,  England,  200 
Barroom  preaching,  161,  162 
Beard,  Bishop  Taylor's,  42 
Bicycle  riding,  191-195 
Bombay,  48,  142 
Bonar's  Life  of  Judson,  202 
Boone,  Bishop,  123 
Bournemouth,  England,  195 
Bowman,  Bishop,  52 
Boxers,  105,  106,  107; 
massacre,  108,  109 


Boys'  boarding-school  atLien- 

chou,   106 
Brazil,  6,  50 
British  Guiana,  47 

California,  40,  41 
Cambridge,  200,  201 ; 
university,  ii,  31,  192,  195- 
198 
Canada,  41,  42; 

Alberta  incident,  167 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  169 
Canton,   China,   97,    100,    105, 

107 
Cape  Horn,  41 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  6,  7 
Capetown,  9 
Carey  referred  to,  31 
Chesnut,  Eleanor,  89-113; 
birth    and   early   years,   91, 

92; 
educational     and     medical 

courses,  93-95; 
first     medical      service     at 

South  Framingham,  95 ; 
further  training,  95,  96; 
missionary  appointment  and 
journey  to  China,  96,  97; 


207 


io8 


Index 


opening     hospital      experi- 
ences, 97-105 ; 
return    home   on    furlough, 

105; 
service  again  in  Lien-chou 
and   martyrdom,  91,   106- 
109; 
unselfish       and       perfected 

character,   109-112; 
vivid  pictures  in  letters,  95- 
103,  112,  113 
Chicago,  24 
Chile,  50 
China,  5,  64,  91,  96-112,   118, 

122-136 
Chinese,  All  Souls'  Day,  107; 
curiosity,  128; 
hospital  for  women,  98; 
men  showing  ability,  102; 
prescription,   103 ; 
women's  sad  lives,  99,  100 
Chippewa  Indians,  24 
Chitambo's  village,  15 
Chonuane,  Africa,  8 
Christmas  in  Africa,  Living- 
stone's,  13 
Christodora       House,       New 

York  City,  64,  65 
Church  and   Manse   Building 

Fund,  163 
Church  Missionary  Society,  32 
Cmcinnati    Academy    of   De- 
sign, 142 
Civil  War,  13,  29; 
effect  on  missionary  work, 
130 


Clinton,  New  York,  23 

Confucius.  127 

Congo,  Free  State,  52 ; 

River,  10 
Cooke,  school  of  Miss,  70 
Costa  Rica,  50 
Crabbottom,  Virginia,  37 
Criticism  disarmed,  130 
Curtis  Island,  183 

Damien,  Father,  31 

Desecration  of  mission  prop- 
erty, 107 

Details  of  school  work  in  In- 
dia, 148,   150 

Devault,  Mr.,  135 

Dwight  School,  Englewood, 
59 

Ecuador,  50 

Edinburgh,   11 

Egypt,  31 

Encyclopccdia  Britannica,  196 

Englewood,  New  Jersey,  57 

Eton  boys,  175 

Europe,  31,  131,  170 

Faribault,  Minnesota,  24,  25 

Fenian   raid,    158 

Fiji  Islands,   186 

Finney,  C.  G.,  23 

Fire-water,  27,  28 

Foreign  Mission  Board,  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  122 

Foreign  missions  and  mission 
workers,  1-17,  44-54,  73- 
152,  173-204 


Ind 


ex 


209 


Fort     McLcod     stage-driver, 

168 
Fort  Ripley,  29 
Foster,  Bishop,  52 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  201 

Gallen,  Father,  67 
Garibaldi,  45 

Georgetown,  Demarara,  47 
Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  13 
Girls'  schools  at  Cawnpur  and 

Lucknow,  143 
Glasgow  University,  11 
God,  consecration  to,  38 
Gordon,  General,  197 
Grand  Canal.  China,  132,  133 
Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  76 
Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  64 
Griffis,  Dr.,  82 
Gulf  nf  Aden,  204 
Gutzlaff,    influence   of   appeal 

on  Livingstone,  5 

Ham-kuang,   China,   106 
Harrison,  ex-President,  151 
Harrow  school,  England,  192, 

199 
Ilartzell,  Bishop  J.  C,  53 
Hawaiian   Islands,  32 
Hindus,   reached  by  William 

Taylor,  48 
Hints  to  candidates,  134 
Hizen,  Baron,  79 
Hogg,  David,  advice  of,  5 
Holiness,      Bishop      Taylor's 

book  on,  43 


Holmes,  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell, 

96 
Home   missions    and   mission 

workers,  19-42,  55-71,  147, 

153-171 
Hongkong,  China,  96 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  160 
Humboldt,  Manitoba,  164 
Hu-nan,    China,   97; 
conditions  in,  99,  105 

India,  48,  49,  139-151 
Indians,  American,  21-28; 

championed       by       Bishop 
Whipple,  2"] ; 

councils  and   treaties    with, 
22; 

fire-water,  27,  28 ; 

need  of  a  friend,  22; 

outbreaks  among,  26 ; 

Red  Cloud's  toast,  22; 

wrongs  inflicted  on,  27 
Indian  Peace  Commission,  2"] 
Inhambane,  Africa,  54 
Iwakura,  embassy,  83 ; 

Prince,  81 

Jackson,    Alice,   55-71 ; 
Christian  experience,  62; 
concentration,  59 ; 
death,  70; 
influence    over    others,    60, 

67-70 ; 
missionary  longings,  63  ; 
prayer  or  song  for  children, 
66; 


2IO 


Index 


school  work,  64; 

settlement  work,  65,  66 ; 

Y.  W.  C.  A.  work  in  New 
York,   69 
Jamaica,  47 
Japanese,  embassy,  81,  83,  84; 

students  for  America,  81 
Judson,  memoirs  of  Mrs.,  122 

Kaffir  work,  Taylor's,  44,  54 
Kang-hau,  China,  106 
Keen,  John,  192,  194,  195 
Keith- Falconer,  Ion,  189-204; 

athlete    and    scholar,     191, 
196,  204; 

bicycle  record,   191-195; 

high  social  station,  191 ; 

immense      application       in 
studies,   195-197; 

marriage,  200; 

Mohammedan  mission  and 
death,  201,  202; 

plea  for  missionary  conse- 
cration, 203,  204 
Kildonan,  Manitoba,  160 
King,  of  Belgium,  52; 

of  Portugal,  52 
Klondike,    169 

Knox  Church,  Winnipeg,  159 
Kolobeng,  Africa,  8,  9 
Kuang-tung,  China,  97 
Kuruman,  Africa,  7,  8 

Lake  'Ngami,  8 
Lambeth  Conference,  31 
Lam-mo,  China,  97 


Land's  End  to  John  o'  Groat's, 

195 
Letter    of    Chinese    students, 

no 
Liberia,  52 
Lien-chou,    China,    97,     100; 

martyrs  at,  91,  108- no; 

men's  hospital  at,  105,  107 ; 

official  in,   102 ; 

women's  hospital,  98 
Lien-shan  official,  102 
Life    of    Robert    and    Mary 

Moffat,  146 
Lilavati  Singh,  150,  151,  152 
Lingle,  Mr.,   103 
Linyanti,  Africa,  9,  10 
Lions,  adventures  with,  7,  8 
Little  Bridge  race,  192 
Liverpool,  42 
Livingstone,  David,   1-17,  31 ; 

birth,  3 ; 

boyhood,  4; 

early  studies,  4-6; 

interest   in    China  and   Af- 
rica,   5; 

main   African  journeys,  6- 

15; 
return  trips  to  and  honors 

in  Great  Britain,   11-13; 
Stanley's  relief  and  tribute, 

14; 
unparalleled  service,  death, 

and  burial  in  Westminster 

Abbey,  3,  13-17 
Livingstone,  Mrs.,  8,  12,  146; 
Robert,  13 


Loanda,  see  St.  Paul  de  Lo- 
attda 

"Locomotive  habit,"  41 

Log-rolling,  38 

London,   11 

London  Bicycle  Club,  192 

London  Missionary  Society,  7 

Lucknow,  48,  141,  143 

Ltidlow,  Massachusetts,  fac- 
tory conditions,  68 

Mabotsa,  Africa,  8 

McAfee,  Dr.,  93 

Machle,  Amy,  108; 
Dr.,  Id,  107,  108; 
Mrs.,  108 

Manitoba,  169 

Melanesians,  181-187 

Melbourne,   Australia,  43 

Memorial  tablet  in  New  York 
Presbyterian  Building,  91 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  William  Taylor's 
father,  37 

Mikado,  the,  81 

Mile  End,  London,  200 

Mission  schooner,  181 

Moffat,  Robert  and  Mary,  6, 
8,  146,  147 

Moffitt,  Dr.,  44 

Mohammedans,  mission  ef- 
forts for,  48,  201,  204 

Moravian  Institute,  76 

Moravians,  31 

Morrison,  Robert,  31 

Mota,  Island  of,  183,  185 


Index  211 

Mount  Pisgah  Church  camp- 
meeting,  119 

Murata,  Japanese  official,  79; 
much  impressed  by  Chris- 
tian book  found,  80 

Nagasaki,  78-81 
National  Cyclists'  Union,  192 
Neesima,  Joseph  Hardy,  83 
Neil,  the  Rev.  John,  quoted, 

170 
New  Hebrides  Islands,  181 
New  York  Herald,  14 
New   York   School   of   Peda- 
gogy, 64 
New    Zealand,    176-178,    180, 

181 
Nicaragua.  50 
Noldeke,  Professor,  198 
Norfolk  Island,  183 
North  Carolina's  first  foreign 

missionary,  122 
Northwest,      home      mission 

work  for  the,  161 
Norwich,   Ontario,   158 
Notice-boards    in    Japan,    79, 

84 
Nukapu,  Patteson's  death  at, 

186 

Oberlin  College,  23 
Oceanic,  the,  96,  97 
Opossum  story,  47 
Optimism,  Bishop  Whipple's, 

32 
Order  of  the  Rising  Sun,  84 


212 


Index 


Ottery  St.  Mary  school,  Eng- 
land,   177,    179 

Ox-back  and  ox-wagon  travel, 
7 

Oxford  University,  11,  179, 
192 

Palo  Alto,  California,  54 
Panama,  50 

Park  College,  Parkville,  Mis- 
souri, 93,  94 
Parsees,  48 
Paton,  John  G.,  181 
Patterson,  Miss,   108 
Pstteson,      John      Coleridge, 
173-187; 
birth  and  family  ties,   176; 
boyhood    experiences,    175- 

178; 
education  in  Germany  and 

at  Oxford,  179; 
entrance  on  parish  and  mis- 
sion work,  179-181 ; 
Episcopal  dress  and  duties, 

182-184; 
languages      acquired,      179, 

181,   185; 
life    in    the    South    Pacific, 

180-182; 
school  epidemic,  183,  184 ; 
service  to  the  Melanesians 
and  death,  184-187 
Patteson,  Sir  John,  and  Lady, 

175-177,  180 
Paul's  good  fight,  21 


Pcabody,    Kansas,    Presbyte- 
rian Church,  143,  144 

Peale,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  91,  107, 
108 

Perry,  Commodore,  ^^ 

Peru,  50 

Peterboro,  Canada,  42 

Pitman,  Isaac,  192,  195 

Prayer-meeting  by  boys,  129 

Prayer     or     song     for     little 
children,  66 

Preaching,  tact  and   skill  in, 
127; 
two  kinds  of,  26; 
William  Taylor's,  45 

Presidents  known  by  Bishop 
Whipple,  32 

Princeton   Theological    Semi- 
nary, 158 

Protestant  Episcopal  General 
Convention,  25 

Punch,  London,  quoted,  16,  17 

Purefoy,  Father,  118 

Queen  Victoria,  11,  31,  177 
Queensland,    186 
Quilimane,  Africa,  1 1 

P.ailroad  to  Winnipeg,  163 
Red  Holes,  log-rolling  at,  38 
Reed,  Brother,  helps  missions, 

46 
Regina  student,  a,  165 
Richards,  E.  H.,  referred  to, 

54 
Ridpath,  quoted,  41,  42 


Index 


213 


Kiel's  rebellion,   159 
Pobertson,  James,  153-171 ; 
birthplace,    155; 
characteristics,    155,    157; 
emigration  of  family  to  On- 
tario,  156; 
experiences  as  a  teacher  and 

in  college,   157,    158; 
further    studies    in    Prince- 
ton and  New  York,  158; 
Manitoba    and    the    North- 
west, 161 ; 
marriage     and     pastorates, 

157-160; 
superintendent      of      home 
missions  in  the    North- 
west,  161-170; 
visits  to  Scotland  and  death, 
169-171 
Rohilkhand,  India,  139,  142 
Rome,  New  York,  24 
Rossland,    British    Columbia, 

167 
Royal    Geographical    Society, 
13 

St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  10,  52 
Sam-kong,  China  mission  sta- 
tion, 97,  98; 

daily  life  in,  97; 

difficulties,  98,  99 
San   Francisco,  41,  47,  96 
Seaver,      Brother,      describes 

William  Taylor,  37 
Selwyn,  Bishop,   177,  180; 

his  successor,  182 


Senate,  Japan's,  84 
"Septuagint    nuts    to    crack," 

197 
Shanghai,     China,     1 18,     126, 

129; 
missionary    conference     in, 

131 

Shattuck     School,     Faribault, 
Minnesota,  24 

Shire  River,  12 

Shorthand,   195 

Shupanga,  Africa,  Mrs.  Liv- 
ingstone's death  at,   12 

Siam,  95 

Sioux  Indians,  22,  24; 
treaties   with,  22 

Slave-trade,  9,  14 

Smallpox  patient,  Miss  Tho- 
burn's,    141 

Smith     College,     Northamp- 
ton, Massachusetts,  57,  67 

Smith,  Robertson,  198 

Smoking,   193 

Snakes,  lesson  from  the,  119 

South  Africa,  6,  8,  44-46,  54 

South  America,  50 

South  China,  96 

South  Zambezi  Mission,  54 

Southern  Baptist  Convention, 
118 

Stanley,  Henry  M.,   14 

Stony  Mountain  blizzard,  60 

"Stopping  -  places,"     discom- 
forts of,  163,  166 

Story    of   My   Life,    William 
Taylor's,  46 


214 


Index 


Student  Volunteer  Movement 
for  Foreign  Missions,  191 
Styal,  Cheshire,  England,  57 
Susi,  Livingstone's  attendant, 

15 
Swain.  Miss  Clara  A.,   142 
Swearing     stage-drivers,     29, 

168 
Sydney,  Australia,  43 
Syriac  language,  179,  196 

T'ai-p'ing    rebellion,    129 

Tasmania,  48 

Taylor,   William,   35-54,    143; 

ancestry  and  birth,  zi ', 

consecration  and  zeal  in 
reaching  men,  38; 

downs  a  playful  class- 
leader,  39,  40; 

experiences  as  a  missionary 
in  California,  40,  41 ; 

finds  open  doors  in  Canada 
and  Great  Britain,  42; 

first  and  second  tours  in 
Australia  and  South  Af- 
rica, 42-48,  53,  54; 

Holy  Land  visited,  42; 

India  campaign,  48-50; 

"locomotive  habit,"  41 ; 

Missionary  Bishop  of  Af- 
rica,  51-53; 

South  American  work,  50; 

West    Indies,    47; 

work  completed  and  coro- 
nation, 54 
Thoburn,  Isabella,  139-152; 


ancestry  and  early  life,  140, 

141; 

education,  141,  142; 

immediate  response  to  mis- 
sionary call,  139,  142; 

Lucknow  and  Cawnpur 
schools  for  girls  founded, 
142,  143; 

Presbyterian  church  and 
other  addresses,  144-147; 

promotion  of  deaconess 
work  in  home  field,  147, 
148; 

school  at  Lucknow  devel- 
oped into  woman's  col- 
lege, 145,  148-150; 

wonderful  executive  power 
and  influence,  148-152; 

work  suddenly  finished,  151 
Thoburn,  Bishop,  quoted,  144, 

145 
Thwing,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  98 
Tokyo,  Japan,  75,  81,  84-86 
Trade    in    laborers    in    Mela- 
nesia, 186; 
a  result,  187 
Training  School  for  Nurses, 

Chicago,   95 
Travel  in  Africa,  7-10; 

in  Canada  in  1873,  159 
Trinidad,  47 
Tunbridge     Wells,     England. 

incident,   46 
Tung-chou,  China,  135 

Ujiji,  Africa,  14 


Index 


215 


Union  Theological  Seminary, 

158 
United     States     and     United 

States     government,     22, 

76,  -7T,  8s,  130,  133.  13s 
University  of  Manitoba,  169 
Utrecht  Polytechnic  Institute, 

76 

Verbeck,  Guido  Fridolin,  73- 

87; 
birth  and  happy  childhood, 

75,  1^\ 

confirmed    and    trained    in 

languages  and  trade,  76; 

emigration  to  United  States, 

76,  n\ 

gives  himself  to  missionary 
service,  T] ; 

goes  to  Japan,  78; 

has  remarkable  success  in 
training  national  leaders 
and     translating     books, 

79-84 ; 

later  preaching  and  teach- 
ing work,  84,  85 ; 

made    a    citizen    of    Japan 
and    highly    honored    at 
his   death,  85-87 
Victoria  Falls,  Africa,  11 

Wake  Forest,  North  Carolina, 

120,  122 
Waterloo,  Iowa,  91,  92 
Waugh,  Bishop,  40 
Weed,  Thurlow,  23 


Welfare  Work,  68 
Wellesley,   Massachusetts,   70 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  at  Eton, 

177 
West  Indies,  47 
Westminster  Abbey,  3,  16,  31 
Wheeling    Female    Seminary, 

West  Virginia,  141,  142 
V-'hipple,     Henry     Benjamin, 

19-33 ; 

a  good  fighter  for  the  right, 

21-23 ; 
birth  and  education,  23; 
early  ministerial   work,  23, 

24; 
enters      upon      duties      as 
Bishop  of  Minnesota,  24; 
immediate  and  heroic  devo- 
tion to  the  Indians,  24-28, 
31,  32; 
love  for  him  of  the  Fari- 
bault community,  24,  25 ; 
methods     of    helping    and 

winning  men,  25-31 ; 
new  idea  converts  a  stage- 
driver,  28-30; 
optimistic  spirit,  32; 
receives    many    honors    in 

England,    31,   32; 
reminiscences  published  and 
close  of  life,  28,  32,  2>2) 
Wife,  a  missionary's,  123 
Wilkins,  Captain,  on  Bishop 

Whipple,  27 
Windsor  Castle,  31 
Winnebago  Indians,  24 


2l6 


Index 


Winnipeg  journeys,   159 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society's    first    missiona- 
ries, 142 
Woman's     Medical     College, 

Chicago,  95 
Woman's  Reformatory,  South 
Framingham,    Massachu- 
setts, 95 
V\''oodstock,  Ontario,  156 
Work  of  a  bishop,  25,  26 

Yang-tzu,  River,  132,  133 ; 

Valley,  99 
Yates,    Matthew   Tyson,   115- 
136; 

a  providential  call  to  serv- 
ice, 117,  118; 

birth  and  early  prayer  life, 
118-121; 

efforts    for    an    education, 
120,  121 ; 

foreign  missionary  decision, 
122; 


marriage  and  voyage  to 
Shanghai,   122,  123 ; 

mastery  of  the  conditions 
and  the  language,  123- 
127; 

meeting  interruptions  skil- 
fully, 127,  128 ; 

pressing  out  into  the  coun- 
try, 128,   129; 

return  home  on  furlough, 
and  later  visit  to  Europe, 
129- 13 1 ; 

rules  for  an  aggressive  na- 
tive Church,  131,  132; 

survey  of  a  line  of  mission- 
ary attack,  132,   133; 

vice-consul-general,   closing 
labors,    and    death,    133- 
136 
Yukon  River,  169 

Zambezi  River,  8,  12 
Zanzibar,  16 
Zeist,   Holland,   75 


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